TCU AD Jeremiah Donati: Conference realignment is ‘certainly not over’
TCU is no stranger to jumping conferences.
The Horned Frogs started this century in the Western Athletic Conference before moving to Conference USA then to the Mountain West and then to the Big 12. TCU has been members of the Big 12 since 2012 and it felt like a longtime home in a Power Five conference.
At least until last July when news broke that flagships Texas and Oklahoma would be bolting for the SEC. That left the remaining eight schools in the Big 12 scrambling, but the league solidified its future by bringing in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida in the coming years.
However, the realignment discussion isn’t going away anytime soon.
“As the conferences’ television and media rights negotiations begin to pick up momentum I think that will compel more discussions on conference realignment,” TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said. “It is certainly not over.”
Realignment is among the leading factors that have stalled College Football Playoff expansion. Part of the fallout from UT and OU leaving the Big 12 for the SEC is more voices — and disagreements — arising in the CFP expansion process.
A 12-team model that seemed destined to pass last summer is no longer the case. The Big Ten and ACC are reportedly against the 12-team model.
As far as the ACC is concerned, one theory is it wants to limit the number of playoff teams, which could put pressure on Notre Dame to join the league. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips hasn’t been bashful about his desire for Notre Dame to join full time. Notre Dame, meanwhile, seems perfectly happy with its independence, and it seems far-fetched the mindset is going to change.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowslby even shot down that notion before the league’s football championship Saturday.
“Don’t let your imagination get away with you,” Bowlsby said, smiling.
Asked directly about the ACC being opposed to the 12-team model, Bowlsby said: “I wouldn’t lay it at their doorstep. Not everybody has the same issue, but several have issues.
“I would say, no, that it’s any more them than anybody else.”
Still, if the ACC is able to lure in Notre Dame as a full-time member, or if the league decides to match the SEC in becoming a 16-school league, it would set off another round of realignment. In theory, if Notre Dame joined, the ACC would add a 16th team.
That’s where a school such as TCU could be an option as the 16th school if the ACC wanted to get into the state of Texas and add a school located in one of the most fertile recruiting grounds. West Virginia and Cincinnati could be other schools considered by the ACC if it expanded.
At the end of the day, as Donati said, realignment is not over.
This story was originally published December 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
