Getting Up To Speed On TCU Football

One of the more obvious perks about living in Fort Worth is the privilege of sharing the college town pride of Texas Christian University. If you're new to the city and you were not aware before you moved, you certainly must know by now. Not far from downtown, just off University Ave. is the home to just shy of 10,000, always purple wearing, TCU Horned Frogs. 
If you are new to the Lone Star State, certainly you heard before you moved to Texas that football is always a part of the conversation. The hype is real: football is truly treated like a religion here. For a Chicago girl, I sure am pretty passionate about my TCU football. I guess you can say I've been converted.

      

With college football season just around the corner, I thought I'd give you a quick briefing so you can start to sound like a local (or at least have some idea of what all the fuss is all about). 

Amon G. Carter Stadium

Sometimes referred to as "Hell's Half Acre", "The Carter", or "Gary's House", Amon G. Carter is TCU's home stadium. This grass field, open air stadium recently underwent a $164 million renovation that was finally completed in 2012, so you can sure bet it has all the bells and whistles you could ever imagine. It also houses the Armed Forces Bowl every year. Saturday nights? You better believe this stadium is hoppin'. This year, TCU joined forces with Disney's consulting firm "Disney Institute" to improve their already fabulous game-day experience. Read more about that partnership here. Bottom line: this fall, if you are not at the games, you'll wish you were.

Who's this "Gary" guy everyone's talking about?

Coach Gary Patterson is just about as good as it gets. The football gods really had us in mind when they rewarded us with this one. "G.P", as he's often referred to, has coached TCU since December 2000 and has led the Horned Frogs to a 97-28 record. Under Patterson's reign, the Horned Frogs have owned the No. 1 ranked defense in the country five times (2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010), the most top defenses by any team since the NCAA began keeping records in 1937. So in other words: TCU defense is Gary's bread and butter. 

Hold on - what the heck is a "Horned Frog"?

Mustangs, Bears, Rams.. Horned Frogs? Not exactly your typical mascot. TCU is the only school with this unique mascot, making it nationally distinct. Despite its name, a "horned frog" is actually a lizard.   The typical Horned Frog is three to five inches long. According to the TCU Admissions site, Horned Frogs are cold-blooded animals and have an unusual pineal gland, resembling a "third eye" on the top of the head, which zoologists believe is part of their system of thermoregulation. When angered or frightened, horned frogs can squirt a fine, four-foot stream of blood from their eyes. This explains the fierce red accents and stripe across the helmets debuted at the Cowboys Classic vs. LSU at AT&T Stadium last season. Didn't see them? Here's what they looked like:

Pretty sweet. Right?

The Horned Frogs are notorious for switching up their helmets quite often - which adds to the suspense leading up to game day.  Another fan favorite? The Purple Hydrochrome helment. C'mon - Even the name sounds cool. 

Nike never disappoints us on TCU uniforms and equipment. I can only imagine what this season will bring. Keep your eyes peeled - TCU's purple and black armor is sure to impress.

The Big 12: The Conference That Can't Count

As of 2012, TCU plays in the Big 12 Conference. Yes, you counted correctly - there are only 10 teams in this conference. But seriously, all joking aside, entering is 11th year, the Big 12 conference is one of the most competitive conferences in Division 1 sports. For the third year, the conference is lead by commissioner Bob Bowlsby and remains the only major conference in the nation to determine its champions in all sports directly on the field of play with a full round-robin schedule. This premiere athletic conference encompasses five states and nearly 38 million people. TCU and West Virginia are the newest additions to this league.

If you're going to jump on the bright purple, TCU fan bandwagon, here's a quick list of some famous TCU football alums and household names you might recognize:

• Ladainian Tomlinson "L.T" 
• Davey O'Brien - namesake of the "Davey O'Brien Award" awarded to the best quarterback in the country
• Bob Lilly
• Andy Dalton - former quarterback that led TCU to a Rose Bowl win in '11 over the Wisconsin Badgers
• Jason Verrett  

TCU students can enter the games for free with their student ID cards, but if you are a non-student and want to get in on the action you can buy tickets here.

TCU 2014-2015 Football Schedule. Click to Enlarge

The past two years as the rookie to watch in the Big 12 have been rocky to say the least. Although defense may be Patterson's bread and butter, TCU's offense has fallen short. The new additions of co-offensive coordinators former Texas Tech WR coach, Sonny Cumbie and University of Houston's Doug Meacham bring high hopes for TCU football as they enter the 2014-2015 season.


TCU kickoff is only 38 days away and as you can imagine I'm more than excited to get my boots and purple sundresses out for another exciting season. Hope to see y'all at The Carter! Go Frogs!