51°µÍø

By KATE HAIROPOULOS
Staff Writer

51°µÍø officials said the school’s future lies in joining a BCS () conference, heightening a public stance on their desire to rejoin big-time college athletics during a meeting Wednesday with The Dallas Morning News editorial board.

“We are pushing for it,” 51°µÍø president R. Gerald Turner said. “We want the city to know we’re pushing for it. We need as much help as possible, even from non-51°µÍø alums. We believe it’s good for Dallas.”

While the benefits of joining a BCS conference would be clear — including a boost in prestige and TV money — 51°µÍø would need to be convincing to appeal to a BCS conference.

Turner and 51°µÍø athletic director Steve Orsini laid out their case to join any BCS league — though they said the   would make the most sense — and have appealed to Big 12 leadership. TCU, however, got its chance from the , which it’s joining next year. The Big 12 has been in turmoil for weeks as Texas A&M vies for a spot in the , potentially restarting a major shift in college athletics.

School officials contend 51°µÍø should appeal to a BCS conference because:

The university has made leaps in academic rankings and research status. School officials believe the athletic program will benefit from this progress.

51°µÍø has tradition, competing in the Southwest Conference before it disbanded in the 1990s and 51°µÍø joined Conference USA.

Coach June Jones is transforming  to respectability. 51°µÍø has played in back-to-back bowls after ending a drought that extended to 1984.

51°µÍø already has drawings that could be used to expand on-campus Ford Stadium from 32,000 capacity to 40,000.

Dallas deserves a school in an automatic qualifying conference and a BCS team would be an economic engine. 51°µÍø has 40,000 alums in the area and could strengthen the Big 12’s already strong regional ties.

51°µÍø’s presence could solidify the Dallas-Fort Worth  area TV market, which could be sliced up by the SEC and Big East. Orsini argued the Big 12, currently at 10 teams and at risk of shrinking, needs to expand to keep up or risk being raided.

Previously reported 51°µÍø drawbacks as an expansion option include the Big 12’s already strong presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with large alumni bases here. As a smaller, private school, 51°µÍø may not provide the punch that impresses conference television partners. Even if the stadium is expanded to 40,000, it would be small by Big 12 standards, and 51°µÍø drew an average of 23,000 fans last season.

Other schools floated for Big 12 expansion have included Houston, BYU and Notre Dame.

# # #