businessofsport
Guest
The pitchforks came out quick for terminations and firing demands. Like NIL, that thinking is an unfunded mandate. Unless there are real proven issues for-cause, no one on the Board of Trustees is listening to this feedback, so it is like yelling into a void.
Dykes signed his extension on April 3, weeks after we beat USC in the Alamo Bowl to close out a second straight 9-4 season and a 36-17 record over four years. That's a coach (with an agent) that knew he earned real leverage. That is an agent whose whole job is testing the market the moment a season ends.
TCU locking him up early, rather than waiting and risking a bidding war (for Dykes or a cost of replacement as we faced with Boise on the AD hunt) is the program buying stability while it was still affordable. Everything... everything is about money now. Does money fix it? Yes. Do we have it? No. It is purely about who has it and who does not. Call your senators. And donors across the NCAA in schools that do not have a real CFP chance have stopped picking up the phone for athletics. We have already squeezed the millionaires that TCU has available to it and now after a horrific self inflicted PR cycle, we only have corporates to target (no patch yet - likely not going to be a news media group when we do). The UNC loss happened almost five months after the Dykes deal was signed. Judge the body of work that earned the extension, not one road loss that came after it. Judge the NIL money we comparatively lack to be the contender most want this program to be, not the coaches working on what resources this university can afford.
The Buddie credential decision and all surrounding it has generated valid internal and external debate, and reasonable people disagree on it. I'll leave that one there. None of this happens in a vacuum. TCU has a chancellor and a board of trustees with direct oversight of athletics decisions, head coaching contract extensions, finances and budget decisions. If you want to point a pitchfork somewhere, that's a more accurate address.
New Coach? This is a guesstimate since TCU doesn't disclose contract terms, but here's the ballpark using what comparable deals actually cost. Dykes' prior deal ran through 2028 at roughly $7 million a year. An extension that runs a couple years past that, at a raised rate more in line with what proven Big 12 coaches command now, likely puts total remaining value somewhere in the $32 to $35 million dollar range. If TCU fired him not for cause, with a typical 75 to 85 percent guarantee structure, you're realistically looking at a $24 to $30 million dollar check written for nothing but a change of name on the visor. That wipes out every non-revenue sport at TCU.
THEN, you have to make hires TCU fans would consider an upgrade. As for the AD, we went Army and arguably, Mr. Boise State was the better direction at a cost much higher than $5mm (for him to leave). Someone "better" as head coach (plus staff) is not walking in for less than $9 to $11 million a year now, with total guaranteed value north of $50 million over the life of the deal. He'll also want it in writing that TCU can fully fund the $20.5 million dollar revenue share cap + back it with additional real year on year growth of NIL money on top, the kind of number programs are raising in the $15 to $25 million dollar range beyond rev share at schools that are actually winning that fight.
Add it up: a contract buyout in the tens of millions, a new coach's guarantee on top of that, and NIL commitments we have not been able to deliver even for the roster we want. Cooler heads should prevail here unless YOU are cutting a $50M+ check to Athletics Advancement annually above current budget. That's football. TCU also has 20 other teams to also fund. Based on what's publicly known about our finances, TCU has what it can afford. That is okay. This is not negatively. This is NFL junior shoved into academic institutions. Call your senator.
Let's cheer the hell out of these guys on Saturday. Not all our players are "one and done" or getting big checks. All need our support. And those that are getting paid, power to them. You would do exactly the same thing, especially if you could set yourself up beyond college sports. Hate the system, not the...
Dykes signed his extension on April 3, weeks after we beat USC in the Alamo Bowl to close out a second straight 9-4 season and a 36-17 record over four years. That's a coach (with an agent) that knew he earned real leverage. That is an agent whose whole job is testing the market the moment a season ends.
- December 7, 2022: Under a previous TCU administration, Dykes is handed a contract extension through 2028 immediately after leading the Horned Frogs to a 13-2 record and a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff. [1, 2]
- December 10, 2025: Big Steaming Pile of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram breaks the news that legendary Agent Trace Armstrong of Athletes First has officially reached out to TCU management inquiring about a fresh contract extension. At this time, only Utah's Kyle Whittingham had a contract expiring sooner among Big 12 coaches. [1]
- December 30, 2025: TCU defeats #16 USC 30-27 in an overtime thriller at the Alamo Bowl, solidifying a 9-4 season finish and further elevating Dykes’ leverage. [1, 2]
- February 2026: TCU Athletic Director Mike Buddie publicly confirms that contract extension negotiations are actively underway and that a finalized agreement is close. [1]
- April 3, 2026: TCU Athletics and national media outlets officially announce that both parties have agreed to and signed the new multi-year contract extension. [1, 2]
TCU locking him up early, rather than waiting and risking a bidding war (for Dykes or a cost of replacement as we faced with Boise on the AD hunt) is the program buying stability while it was still affordable. Everything... everything is about money now. Does money fix it? Yes. Do we have it? No. It is purely about who has it and who does not. Call your senators. And donors across the NCAA in schools that do not have a real CFP chance have stopped picking up the phone for athletics. We have already squeezed the millionaires that TCU has available to it and now after a horrific self inflicted PR cycle, we only have corporates to target (no patch yet - likely not going to be a news media group when we do). The UNC loss happened almost five months after the Dykes deal was signed. Judge the body of work that earned the extension, not one road loss that came after it. Judge the NIL money we comparatively lack to be the contender most want this program to be, not the coaches working on what resources this university can afford.
The Buddie credential decision and all surrounding it has generated valid internal and external debate, and reasonable people disagree on it. I'll leave that one there. None of this happens in a vacuum. TCU has a chancellor and a board of trustees with direct oversight of athletics decisions, head coaching contract extensions, finances and budget decisions. If you want to point a pitchfork somewhere, that's a more accurate address.
New Coach? This is a guesstimate since TCU doesn't disclose contract terms, but here's the ballpark using what comparable deals actually cost. Dykes' prior deal ran through 2028 at roughly $7 million a year. An extension that runs a couple years past that, at a raised rate more in line with what proven Big 12 coaches command now, likely puts total remaining value somewhere in the $32 to $35 million dollar range. If TCU fired him not for cause, with a typical 75 to 85 percent guarantee structure, you're realistically looking at a $24 to $30 million dollar check written for nothing but a change of name on the visor. That wipes out every non-revenue sport at TCU.
THEN, you have to make hires TCU fans would consider an upgrade. As for the AD, we went Army and arguably, Mr. Boise State was the better direction at a cost much higher than $5mm (for him to leave). Someone "better" as head coach (plus staff) is not walking in for less than $9 to $11 million a year now, with total guaranteed value north of $50 million over the life of the deal. He'll also want it in writing that TCU can fully fund the $20.5 million dollar revenue share cap + back it with additional real year on year growth of NIL money on top, the kind of number programs are raising in the $15 to $25 million dollar range beyond rev share at schools that are actually winning that fight.
Add it up: a contract buyout in the tens of millions, a new coach's guarantee on top of that, and NIL commitments we have not been able to deliver even for the roster we want. Cooler heads should prevail here unless YOU are cutting a $50M+ check to Athletics Advancement annually above current budget. That's football. TCU also has 20 other teams to also fund. Based on what's publicly known about our finances, TCU has what it can afford. That is okay. This is not negatively. This is NFL junior shoved into academic institutions. Call your senator.
Let's cheer the hell out of these guys on Saturday. Not all our players are "one and done" or getting big checks. All need our support. And those that are getting paid, power to them. You would do exactly the same thing, especially if you could set yourself up beyond college sports. Hate the system, not the...
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