Big 12 Expansion: TCU Will Accept Conference Invite

Texas Christian will have a 7 p.m. EST press conference to announce its intentions to join the Big 12, according to reports.

Last Friday the Big 12 voted to offer TCU an invite to join its conference as the 10^th member and it was immediately speculated that the school would accept the offer.

TCU was planning to join the Big East next year as a full member, but will join the Big 12 before ever playing a Big East conference game. The school will have to pay a $5 million exit fee, but won't have to wait 27 months like Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

The move bumps the Big 12 up to 10 teams, but it might not be the end of expansion for the conference. The Big 12 is apparently content to stay at 10 teams, but must wait to see what Missouri ends up doing. Missouri is interested in joining the SEC and recently authorized its chancellor to evaluate conference affiliation options, but has not decided on what it is doing yet.

Should Missouri head to the SEC, the Big 12 would likely look to one of Louisville and West Virginia to fill the remaining spot. Both schools currently reside in the Big East conference, which is currently down to six schools after TCU's departure. The loss of one or more additional teams could seriously damper the conference's efforts to rebuild and revamp through expansion.

The Big East would like to double its current allotment of football playing schools to get 12 teams, according to a conference press release. The conference announced that after a conference call with school presidents and athletic directors, it is considering a 12 school football model.

Some of the schools being considered are the service academies -- Air Force, Army and Navy -- Temple, Central Florida, East Carolina, Boise State, and more. The Big East will likely look to move quickly and be aggressive in its expansion efforts, but will also have to wait on what Missouri decides to do. If Missouri stays put in the Big 12, it would likely ensure that Louisville and West Virginia stay put in the Big East.

But a departure of either of the two schools could make it virtually impossible for the conference to find enough quality schools to get the Big East up to 12 football schools. The Big East might look to offer a few of the schools a football-only membership, but it's believed that some would join as full-fledged members.