So while we are waiting on Texas A&M to say they've officially cut ties to the Big XII, I see that Dan Wetzel is advocating for TCU to join the SEC. Now while I've written plenty of articles over at the Purple Y and enjoy that work, this aggression will not stand.
TCU has not even started play in the Big East yet and Wetzel wants them to bolt for the SEC along with Texas A&M. As an LSU fan, I wouldn't mind dusting off the Aggie jokes (a situation which seems imminent), but I don't really want them in the SEC. It's going to water down the product. For the same reason, TCU shouldn't be asked to join.
Even with the current ongoing football stadium upgrades, TCU would rank second to last in stadium capacity. They would only beat out Vanderbilt. That's not good enough. And although the suggestion to play in Cowboys Stadium is out there, that's a once a year thing at best. The SEC is about venerable on-campus stadiums.
TCU would also be in the bottom third of the league in national championships won. The SEC is about more than football, although Wetzel's article is not. TCU's basketball stadium is too small and they don't fill it as it is. TCU's baseball stadium is a decent size, and that is one area where attendance is not an issue. The Horned Frogs ranked 18th nationally in attendance in 2010. However, they were still behind seven SEC teams.
The league already has a Vanderbilt for academics.
A major thing adding two Texas teams does is unbalance the East-West configuration of the SEC. Do you really thing the SEC is interested in doing that if the other Texas school isn't in Austin?
TCU is winning now but they have had decided advantages over the other schools in football in the Mountain West. As the only private school in the league, they could afford to spend and spend on the program. Texas is a talent rich state and the big schools can't sign everybody. Winning certainly helps that cause and TCU has been able to do that under Gary Patterson.
Would they be able to keep that up in the SEC? TCU's strength has been their defense which has ranked high nationally. Would their defensive line hold up over the course of a season in the SEC? What about their offensive line? Let's not forget a key aspect of that TCU Rose Bowl win, Wisconsin stupidly refused to lean on the running game that was gaining 5 yards per carry and totaled 226 yards. TCU only managed 82 yards on the ground on 26 carries.
We at BECB gladly welcome TCU to the Big East, but we don't think they fit the SEC profile.