TCU proud of hard work it took

[Harry]

“It's hard to smell the roses when you're trying to scale the mountain,” football coach Gary Patterson said of the TCU renaissance. But “someday I'll look back, know that was pretty special.”

TCU's pride comes from more than just its new football prowess (one of only four schools to finish ranked in the top 15 the last four years) and its new stadium and its new conference.

The Frogs are as proud of how they reached the Big 12 as they are that they reached the Big 12.

TCU Magazine recently displayed a “Welcome to the Big 12” spread. It opened with this:

“Not by backroom politics. Not by threat of litigation. Not even by woe-is-me bellyaching.

“Nope, all it took was good old-fashioned planning, fundraising, building and a whole lot of winning to get TCU from Southwest Conference castoff, through five leagues in 17 years, to BCS credibility, and finally, into the Big 12.”

Read more: http://newsok.com/big-12-football-tcu-proud-of-hard-work-it-took-to-get-new-stadium-new-conference/article/3692650#ixzz20tG6smNQ

[NorthTexan95]

The moral of the story is that in order to have success you need a good footbal team, a nice stadium, and people to show up for football games. Nothing else matters.

Edited July 17, 2012 by NorthTexan95

[Green P1]

lol!

[Harry]

I see it as TCU proving that success can be had. They were down pretty low post SWC and in the far flung WAC. They took the opportunity when they played in that Rose Bowl game and really never looked back. They made excellent talent evaluations when they didn't have the ability to take top 100 talent and it paid big dividends. Time will tell if North Texas can follow in their footsteps but I certainly think it is possible especially with the move to C-USA.

The other point is TCU - even when they tasted success - did not rest on their laurels. I know that landing Apogee, raising the profile and compensation of our coaching staff were huge milestones for us. My fear is that it would be very easy to take a breath

[greenminer]

Anyone remember the old WAC and when the MWC guys split off? I think it was the late 90s. BYU, UNM, TCU, UNLV, etc...

What was TCU's value (at the time) to MWC? I don't even remember what they were like in the old WAC. If they were not any good (I vaguely remember the WAC's final years being about BYU and UNM in football), it must have been their DFW presence?

[GL2Greatness]

Anyone remember the old WAC and when the MWC guys split off? I think it was the late 90s. BYU, UNM, TCU, UNLV, etc...

What was TCU's value (at the time) to MWC? I don't even remember what they were like in the old WAC. If they were not any good (I vaguely remember the WAC's final years being about BYU and UNM in football), it must have been their DFW presence?

nice selective memory or avoidance or reality.....both are so common here on GMG

TCU moved from the CUSA to the MWC in 2005

before that in 2001-2004 when they were in the CUSA they were 6-6....10-2......11-2.....5-6

so while that might not be any good to a powerhouse like unT that was good enough to get TCU into the MWC where they went 11-1 in 2005 and then 11-2 in 2006 and their worst year ever in the MWC 8-5 before going on a streak of never winning less than 11 games

in the WAC with Fran for the three years before they went to CUSA they were 7-5....8-4.....10-1 again I can see how a fan of a powerhouse like unT would consider that not very good, but for a small school like CUSA and a crappy conference like CUSA it was good enough

clearly it was just all about the media market for TCU and CUSA and the MWC as well

Edited July 17, 2012 by GL2Greatness

[UNTflyer]

It wasn't hard work. Somebody helped them.

(null)

[Green Lantern]

nice selective memory or avoidance or reality.....both are so common here on GMG

TCU moved from the CUSA to the MWC in 2005

before that in 2001-2004 when they were in the CUSA they were 6-6....10-2......11-2.....5-6

so while that might not be any good to a powerhouse like unT that was good enough to get TCU into the MWC where they went 11-1 in 2005 and then 11-2 in 2006 and their worst year ever in the MWC 8-5 before going on a streak of never winning less than 11 games

in the WAC with Fran for the three years before they went to CUSA they were 7-5....8-4.....10-1 again I can see how a fan of a powerhouse like unT would consider that not very good, but for a small school like CUSA and a crappy conference like CUSA it was good enough

clearly it was just all about the media market for TCU and CUSA and the MWC as well

How is it selective memory when he asked a question, clearly saying he doesn't remember that time well? Always so argumentative and condescending with the responses.

I'm glad you're here to tell us these things, professor.

[hickoryhouse]

It wasn't hard work. Somebody helped them.

(null)

Well of course. I hear that if you are successful somebody along the way had to give you some help, you didn't build that program TCU ... somebody else made that happen...

Get with the program TCU...

Edited July 17, 2012 by hickoryhouse

[UNTFan23]

Well of course. I hear that if you are successful somebody along the way had to give you some help, you didn't build that program TCU ... somebody else made that happen...

Get with the program TCU...

I see what you did there.

[emmitt01]

I love when obscure political references, however non-topical and silly, can make their way into a football discussion.

Welp, I know my vote just changed.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Without the Cinderella/BCS-bowl buster effect or opportunity TCU had there would be no Big 12 for the Horned Frogs and their more astute fans and alums know that. Thus another reason the NCAA needs to open up their ridiculous 4 team play-off to at least 8 with a 16 team play-off being even better (and more fair if fair ever makes a come-back in today's NCAA). There is still something about a pick yourself up by your boot straps rags to riches story in this country that intrigues We The People (sometimed called the 'silent majority), but of course, we now have apparent unseen help with even that, too. I know I must have had the unseen help from "The Bureaucratic Phantom" when I started my DJ business on January 1, 2004, and any day now I know I'll get invited to a beer summit being the good 6'th generation Texas redneck that I am. (Divine Providence........do your thing).

I regularly congratulate many of my Horned Frog acquaintances over in Cowtown and out here in Parker County of which there are many, but many of us on this board remember the TCU football program of the 1960's and 1970's whereas had they not had the big state SWC school's traveling fans coming to Amon Carter Stadium the Frogs would have had many Game Days' with as many stadium attendants in the stadium as purple clad fans.

TCU had the perfect storm happen for them with all this yet they made that perfect storm happen for the most part. A little luck sometimes becomes part of the equation like for us SMU up and leaving for the Big East. TCU should still be commended for all of their pro-activity to make something this huge happen for their school, though, albeit I see they are picked in the middle of the Big 12 pack in most pre-season polls I've seen but of course still another reason as to why they tee it up on Game Day and play the game. TCU will be coming into the Big 12 in much better shape than Baylor U and that is probably an under-statement. It will be interestng to see if TCU can win a Big 12 football championship because there are still several state-assisted universities in that league who still have not

GMG!

Edited July 18, 2012 by PlummMeanGreen

[10Eagle10]

FW Star-Telegram report card for TCU's first year in the Big 12:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/05/29/4892945/first-year-in-big-12-nearly-in.html

[FirefightnRick]

Nope, all it took was two damn good coaching hires and more money than most can ever fathom to keep them and give them what ever they desire

Rick

[glick1980]

You ussually get what you pay for in this world. TCU basically money whipped it's way into the Big12. There were only a couple of schools that could compete with them monetarily in any non-AQ conference and that was Utah and BYU, who are not in the PAC12 and independent, respectively. Now they are a much smaller fish, in a much bigger pond. It won't be long until they show everyone why they were not invited to the Big12 originally.

[UNTLifer]

I love when obscure political references, however non-topical and silly, can make their way into a football discussion.

Welp, I know my vote just changed.

Kind of like Benford/BB references or when talk slides to the best gaming system on the market?

[ragpicker]

They have money and they are smart. Cockroaches are also hard to kill and they will be around when the rest of us are gone.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

The moral of the story is that in order to have success you need a good footbal team, a nice stadium, and people to show up for football games. Nothing else matters.

.

plus a schedule with teams people know about and want to see.