TCU Football: Tori's Thoughts - Conference Realignment Proving Expensive for SMU

SMU will join the ACC in 2024, but will miss out on media rights payouts for nine years.

TCU (2-1) returns home to finish non-conference play against SMU (2-1). The Horned Frogs and Mustangs will kick off Saturday at 11 a.m. on FS1 in front of a sold-out crowd at Amon G. Carter Stadium. There is no shortage of storylines to ponder as SMU joins the ACC next season and the Battle for the Iron Skillet nears a stopping point.

SMU's Keldric Luster earlier this month against Oklahoma :: © SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

SMU Joining Power Conference Ranks 

Saturday’s game marks the last time SMU will face TCU as a Group of 5 team.

SMU is leaving the AAC and joining the ACC in 2024 along with Stanford and California, the latest piece of the realignment shuffle. It makes sense, given how quickly the Power 5 (soon to be 4) conferences are separating from the rest of college football, particularly in terms of money.

The kicker, though, is that the Mustangs will not get any media rights payouts for nine years. SMU donors committed to donating a total of $200 million, which equates to about $22.2 million per year, to make accepting the ACC bid viable. On Monday, the university announced $100 million was raised in seven days.

While the yearly average from the promised booster money is an upgrade over the latest $9 million payout to each AAC school, it is still a ways off the $39.5 million each ACC school received in 2021-22. (Interesting to note, California and Stanford will both receive 30 percent of the media rights revenue for seven years and then 70 percent and 75 percent in years 8 and 9, respectively.)

The ACC’s current media deal does not expire until 2036. With the SEC dishing out nearly $50 million per school and the Big Ten’s new media rights contract valued at $1 billion per year, the ACC board of directors endorsed an unequal revenue sharing model that could begin in 2024-25. It primarily rewards a school’s success in revenue-generating postseasons (see primarily football and basketball) and is designed, in part, to keep the schools upset about current media revenue numbers, including Florida State and Clemson, happy.

SMU found a creative way to join a power conference, but more expenses are coming. Successfully anticipating and solving each one, while maintaining competitive athletic programs, is a very tall task. The Mustangs have their work cut out for them in more ways than one.

Clock Ticking on SMU and TCU 

Amidst all that movement, the Battle for the Iron Skillet kept moving closer to a temporary ending. The century-long rivalry will go on pause indefinitely after the 2025 season.

That announcement came before the Mustangs accepted the ACC invitation. It’s unclear exactly why this happened, but conference realignment seems like a fair culprit. The move does allow TCU the flexibility to schedule more marquee non-conference games in future seasons.

Regardless, the outcome is tough to swallow because this rivalry has provided memorable moments for both programs over the years. Of course, no rivalry is complete without heated moments or trash talk.

The last time TCU played host in 2021, a small scuffle broke out after the game. SMU players ignited the incident by planting an SMU flag on the TCU logo at midfield.

This year, a verbal jab came just a few weeks ago when SMU accepted that ACC bid.

“We’re the only school in the DFW Metroplex that’s in a top-3 conference in the country starting next year,” SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said.

There’s no denying the SEC and Big 10 are the two best conferences. In past years, the Big 12 has taken the third position. That could be in jeopardy for this season. at least The Pac-12’s Swan Song is producing arguably the nation’s best or second-best conference. Only time will tell if the Big 12 or ACC takes the fourth slot.

While nothing has really been made of Lashlee’s comment yet, it still shows the value a game that has been played 101 times holds.

SMU and TCU have swapped personnel over the years, too. During this past offseason, the Mustangs snagged former Horned Frog wide receiver Jordan Hudson through the transfer portal. Hudson caught 14 passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns in 2022.

TCU head coach Sonny Dykes left SMU following the 2021 season. Dykes’ team has won the last three games in the series, dating back to 2019 and his SMU days. The teams did not play each other in 2020. The Horned Frogs reclaimed the Iron Skillet last year and lead the all-time series 52-42-7.

Enjoy everything about this weekend’s game and the rivalry because the countdown is on.

TCU Slowly Putting Everything Together

TCU opened Big 12 play with possibly its most complete game of the season at Houston last week. 

The defense put on quite the “bend, but don’t break” performance, particularly in the first half. Houston had success moving the ball between the 20-yard lines but never reached the end zone. By the end of the game, the Cougars had converted just 4-of-15 third downs and 0-of-4 fourth downs. The defensive line maintained fairly constant pressure, producing six sacks and three quarterback hurries.

Special teams miscues, including a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and two missed field goals, raised some concerns. The offensive line also looked shaky in the first half, surrendering three sacks. That group rebounded nicely and gave quarterback Chandler Morris more time to make plays.

Morris looked like a much different quarterback than the one who played against Colorado just three weeks ago. He displayed confidence, hit receivers in stride, rarely put the ball in harm’s way and ran at the right times.

TCU is trending in the right direction, but the competition will get better as the season progresses. A rivalry game is the perfect setting to show the Horned Frogs can keep pace with the season’s ever-evolving demands. 

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