Sponsored by TCU ISP Sports Network, the Dateline award presentation and luncheon will be on Thursday, March 25, at Joe T. Garcia's from 11:45 am to 1 pm. To attend, view the event summary at www.adclubfw.org by Wednesday, March 24.
“The impressive performance by the TCU Horned Frog football team this season has given Fort Worth national exposure and showed the nation the pride that Fort Worth has for our city,” said Jason Parker, president of AAF-Fort Worth.
As the Frogs began their regular season, which ended in an undefeated 12-0 season, the nation began to take notice of the underdogs in purple. Following TCU’s climb to No. 4 in the BCS rankings, ESPN College Gameday headed to Fort Worth for the first time on Nov. 14, to cover the Horned Frogs battle against the Utah Utes. The city of Fort Worth received national exposure and Lee Corso donned the famous SuperFrog head in support of a Frog victory, for the second time that season.
The Utah victory sealed the Frog’s No. 4 BCS ranking and following Air Force and New Mexico losses, the Mountain West Conference Championship. All the while the city of Fort Worth and the nation rallied behind the Frog’s quest for a BCS bowl game, which culminated in an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ to compete in their first BCS bowl game.
“There is a real ‘town and gown' relationship that you feel here,” said Chris Del Conte, TCU’s athletic director. “We try to paint the town purple. The mayor of Fort Worth declared Fridays to be ‘Purple Day,' and every city employee wears purple. Those are the sort of things that happen when you're the only team in town.”
Previous Dateline Award recipients include the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Chef Tim Love, the North Texas Speedway, the Van Cliburn Competition and Downtown Fort Worth, Inc.