TCU’s fate in conference shuffle is about more than football. It matters to all of Fort Worth

The dance of college sports conference realignment is more than familiar to TCU athletics and the community invested in its success.

And once again, there’s a risk that Fort Worth’s team could be left standing by the wall, hoping to catch someone’s eye as the popular kids take the floor.

But the latest shift of schools, TV contracts and the big bucks that they bring doesn’t have to be a bad thing for TCU and Fort Worth. TCU should be an attractive dance partner, and it’s important to the entire region that the Horned Frogs land in the right spot.

TCU’s journey to the college football mountaintop has been good for all of Tarrant County. It’s brought the spotlight to our premium venues and the joys of visiting Fort Worth and Arlington. It has meant more travel-tax revenue and greater economic activity around game days. The university’s reputation and brand are known around the country, and athletic success has helped fuel a campus building boom that attracts more and better students, constantly improving our future workforce.

The Big 12 Conference football media days this week were one of the last to feature its tentpole institutions, Oklahoma and Texas, before they depart to the brawnier Southeast Conference. A separate development — the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles joining the Big Ten — has put talk of full-blown conference realignment out in the open.

For TCU, that could mean the Big 12 bolstering itself with some of the remaining Pacific 12 teams, or perhaps casting an eye toward some of the other conferences looking for the next step in the arms race.

As in most business deals — and make no mistake, this is about money, not competition — location is an edge, and TCU has it. Texas is enticing for any conference, and only TCU offers direct entrance to one of its largest markets. The broadcast audience is attractive, but so is the chance to use venues such as AT&T Stadium and to better recruit athletes around the Lone Star State.

This is a Top 5 market. No offense to the Baylor Bears or Texas Tech Red Raiders, but offering up eyeballs in Waco and Lubbock isn’t quite the same pitch.

These are the kind of opportunities that help the entire region. Dallas sees plenty of benefit in tourist traffic and boosts to local businesses when marquee events land in Fort Worth and Arlington, too, and the area excels at putting together a broad sales pitch. Access via the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is a strong factor, too.

But Fort Worth benefits most when TCU does well. Everyone wants to visit the Stockyards and Sundance Square.

As college football’s giants settle into mega-conferences, the fight to be in the next tier will be fierce. TCU has been here before, after the break up of the Southwestern Conference in the 1990s. It was aggressive then, building up its facilities and making leaps to better leagues when the chance arose.

The university is better positioned now. Chancellor Victor Boschini and Athletic Director Jeremiah Donati have strong selling points, a national brand and reputation to leverage, and the backing of Fort Worth’s civic and business leadership.

A rebuilt Big 12 appears to be the best bet, but TCU should consider its options. If an opportunity arises to align with a conference that’s more situated in top coastal markets, it’s worth considering.

When the right partner comes along, TCU has what it needs to strike out confidently to the dance floor.