As reported exclusively by The Post in late-September, the Big East has landed TCU to become its 9th member in football, giving the league a legitimate Top-10 program.
Big East officials have flown to Fort Worth for the official announcement later Monday, multiple sources told The Post. The move to the Big East will become official July 1, 2012.
The timing couldn’t be better for the league as TCU, rated third in the most recent BCS standings, has an outside shot at playing for the national championship.
What is surprising is that TCU will join for all sports, swelling the basketball membership to 17 schools. That could be a tip that Villanova, which has been considering an upgrade to FBS football, will opt to remain at the FCS level.
If that turns out to the case, look for Central Florida to be the next program invited to join the Big East, giving the conference 18 basketball members and 10 in football.
Considering the league was in a very tenuous position just months ago, these moves would significantly fortify the football conference.
The move is a clear concession on behalf of the non-BCS football playing members to assuage the concerns of the football schools.
With just eight members the Big East Football Conference faced scheduling concerns, no conference championship game and the looming threat that the Big Ten might expand, taking a Big East school, possibly two.
This move does not ward off the Big Ten but it addressed other concerns. If the football league can get to 10 teams it can petition the NCAA to lower the minimum for a league championship game from 12 to 10 schools. The Big 12, which is losing Colorado to the Pac 10 and Nebraska to the Big Ten, would support such legislation.
The move is welcomed by the football schools but the basketball schools are grumbling. The addition of two more programs will make scheduling more difficult and could diminish existing rivalries.
“Now we might get to play some schools once every three years,’’ said one basketball coach who wished to remain anonymous.
The move also helps the football schools grab a toehold in recruiting rich Texas. For TCU, membership in the Big East means playing in a league with automatic BCS slot and significantly greater TV exposure.
Sources told The Post that East Carolina and Memphis, programs that have desperately hoped for membership in the league, have almost no chance at being extended an invitation.
The Post recently published a column stating that any conference with an automatic BCS berth should forfeit that berth in a season in which it does not have a team ranked in the Top 25 and with more than two losses.
West Virginia, at 8-3, just cracked the BCS rankings at 24th. Programs such as Michigan State (11-1) and Boise State (10-1), ranked 8th and 11th respectively, will almost surely not get BCS bowl berths.
TCU is 12-0 and third in the BCS. If either Oregon loses next Saturday at Oregon State or Auburn loses to South Carolina in the SEC title game, the Horned Frogs will become the first non-AQ school to play for the title.
But TCU’s basketball history is awful. The Horned Frogs have never been to an NCAA or NIT Final Four. They never won a Conference USA or Mountain West title.