By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News
Not since the breakup of the Southwest Conference have changes in Division I alignment affected SMU and TCU as they are now.
The former SWC rivals officially moved to new conference homes Friday.
SMU left the Western Athletic Conference for Conference USA.
TCU departed C-USA for the Mountain West.
The schools are not alone in changing conferences. In all, 27 schools made moves.
C-USA lost nine schools and added six. The WAC lost four and added three. The Mountain West made no subtractions but gained TCU. The Big East, Atlantic Coast Conference, Mid-American and Sun Belt also have received facelifts.
"We've seen a lot of switching," NCAA president Myles Brand said. "But the like schools have come together. C-USA will do just fine, and the Big East will do just fine.
"I think people got overly excited about the realignment, and we haven't completely worked it all out yet. But I think the conferences will be stronger."
The flurry of changes started last year with Boston College's decision to follow Miami and leave the Big East for the ACC. BC's move prompted the Big East to grab five schools from C-USA and force other schools to rethink their positions in other conferences.
TCU made the switch to the Mountain West to align itself with a conference that has a better chance to earn its members BCS money. SMU moved to C-USA to align itself with schools in the Southwest region.
Utah, a Mountain West member, became the first non-BCS school to play in a BCS bowl last year, beating Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl. Utah earned $13.5 million for the game, a percentage of which went to Mountain West schools.
Eric Hyman, who left the athletic director's position at TCU in April and is now AD at South Carolina, said BCS money and other factors were reasons for the move.
"Our long-term aspirations are to be a national program," Hyman said before his departure from TCU. "We've made a commitment to that in infrastructure and seeing our teams win games. It's always going to be a work in progress, but this gives us a little more stability."
Jim Copeland, the athletic director at SMU, said the Mustangs' move into C-USA is financially responsible and helps build a regional fan base.
"If you talk about national recognition, that comes from the prestige of the conference and what type of television package you have," Copeland said. "National recognition comes through being in the Eastern media. But people in the West find out their football games aren't covered until Monday morning. That's a fact of life."
Copeland also pointed out that travel to the West Coast is tough on players in terms of scheduling classes, and it drains money from the athletic budget. C-USA's members are spread across the East, Midwest and Southwest.
Copeland estimated the football program spent $200,000 on a trip to play former conference mate Hawaii.
Hyman said TCU's travel costs will rise, but contends the amount of money gained in other ways – television package, attendance and possible BCS money – can offset it.
SMU officials hope home attendance will improve for football games against schools with closer regional ties. Games against Tulsa, Rice, Houston, UT-El Paso and Tulane offer Mustangs fans schools they are familiar with and road teams' fans the opportunity to drive or catch a short flight to Dallas.
TCU also expects that having new opponents to showcase will result in increased attendance.
Hyman said home football attendance was better when the Horned Frogs played Western-based teams than it was during TCU's stay in C-USA.
Even though SMU is turning to the East and TCU is heading to the West, the rivalry will continue.
"I think playing in a conference with like schools – Rice, Houston – is good for us," SMU football coach Phil Bennett said. "We need to build our fan base in the Southwest part of the country. I like playing TCU and wished they had stayed, but we have to move forward. We'll continue to play them; I have no problem with that."
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