Welcome to the Big 12, TCU

As a Baylor fan, I can’t overstate my excitement at hearing TCU will join the Big 12. As a private school just 90 miles up the road, the Baylor-TCU rivalry should be a natural fit — particularly given the heated showdowns the Bears and Horned Frogs have enjoyed on the football field the last two years.

Of course, this isn’t a new rivalry; it’s the rekindling of one of Baylor’s oldest rivalries, dating all the way back to 1899, when TCU was located in Waco (near 18th and Lyle) and was known as Add-Ran Christian University. The Bears and Horned Frogs have squared off in football 107 times, with the series an even 50-50-7 after Baylor’s win last month. According to some reports, TCU was the Bears’ second-ever football opponent (BU played Toby’s Business School in its first game).

Even after 16 years in separate conferences, the Bears are still the Frogs’ most-played rival ever; Baylor, in turn, has played only one opponent (Texas A&M) more times than TCU. The two teams played every year from 1925-95 (except for during WWII). Baylor’s first Homecoming weekend — likely the first collegiate homecoming anywhere — centered around the game against TCU. That would later become a regular event; in every odd-numbered year between 1931-95 (except 1977), the Bears’ home game vs. TCU was chosen for Homecoming weekend.

Throughout this fall’s conference realignment discussions, Baylor President Ken Starr has proclaimed the importance of maintaining historic rivalries. BU lost one longtime rival with A&M’s defection to the SEC, but may have gained an even better rival with the addition of TCU to the Big 12.

Sic ’em, Bears!