TCU football has reached unprecedented heights in 2022, reaching the national championship game for the first time in program history.
The Horned Frogs' unprecedented ascension to the national title stage — excepting, perhaps, the 1939 Sugar Bowl — has placed TCU in a spotlight it has rarely enjoyed. Any time a football team can earn such a berth, interest in the school at large will skyrocket.
So it is for TCU, which certainly will benefit from the increased spotlight and interest as a result of the 2023 College Football Playoff championship game against Georgia.
Though the Horned Frogs have a storied history in football and other sports, the average sports fan may find themselves curious about TCU, including its history, enrollment and curious nickname.
MORE: Watch Georgia vs. TCU live on fuboTV (free trial)
The Sporting News breaks down everything you need to know about TCU, from its name and establishment as a religious institution to conference tie-ins:
Where is TCU from?
TCU is a private religious institution with a listed enrollment of 12,273 as of the 2022-23 academic year. It is based out of Fort Worth, Texas, and was established in 1869 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark (albeit by a different name).
TCU's campus is 272 acres, roughly three miles from downtown Fort Worth. The university is affiliated with — but not governed by — the Disciples of Christ, a Protestant denomination in the U.S. and Canada. It is the largest of 21 institutions associated with the Disciples of Christ, and reportedly enrolls students of "more than 60 religious traditions and faiths."
What does TCU stand for in college football?
TCU is an acronym for Texas Christian University, an homage to the university's affiliation with the Disciples of Christ, whose historical partnership with the university allowed it to become the institution it is today.
How Texas Christian University got its name
Per TCU's website, the university originally was named the AddRan Male & Female College — after brothers Addison and Randolph Clark — in 1869. It had an enrollment of 13 students.
The university held that moniker for several years, during which time the enrollment grew to 450 students. That growth would prove unsustainable, however, without an endowment. The university received it from the Disciples of Christ, prompting it to be renamed the AddRan Christian University in 1873.
Per TCU's Mission & History page:
The Clarks forged an affiliation with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to 'adopt' their school, giving it a new name and ensuring its future. The 1873 charter stated that AddRan Christian University would fulfill its mission to 'promote literary and scientific education.' The relationship with the Disciples would continue to be one of heritage and values.
The university's history page offers little explanation as to why it changed names again in 1902, saying only "We officially became Texas Christian University in 1902." For nearly as long, it has gone by the acronym TCU.
MORE: Has TCU ever won a national championship in football? History of Horned Frogs' best seasons
What conference is TCU in?
TCU has competed out of the Big 12 Conference in football since 2012, though it also competes in the Patriot Rifle Conference for rifle and Coastal Collegiate Sports Association for beach volleyball.
The Horned Frogs' ongoing affiliation with the Big 12 — 11 years — is its second-longest partnership with an athletic conference, trailing only the Southwest Conference, in which it competed in football from 1923 through its dissolution in 1995. TCU won both of its claimed national titles as a member of the SWC in 1935 and '38.
| Conference | Years |
|---|---|
| Independent | 1896-1913, 1921-22 |
| Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) | 1914-1920 |
| Southwest Conference (SWC) | 1923-95 |
| Western Athletic Conference (WAC) | 1996-2000 |
| Conference USA (C-USA) | 2001-04 |
| Mountain West Conference (MWC) | 2005-11 |
| Big 12 Conference (Big 12) | 2012-present |
