It’s almost a foregone conclusion that the Big Ten and Pac 10 are not done expanding, which puts the Western Athletic Conference and the Mountain West in a precipitous position.
TCU-to-the-Big-East has some advantages for the league and the school, but the comment about Big Ten and Pac-10 further expansion being a "foregone conclusion" is certainly over the top.
The article fails to mention how Big East expansion is possible with 16 non-football members. Is TCU being considered as a "football only"?
I could see the 8 football schools separating from the others, then inviting East Carolina, Central Florida, Memphis, and TCU to have a 12-team league with a bigger "southern" presence and footprint that covers Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina. With Memphis hoops and TCU football they would gain some top-ranked programs. With ECU and UCF you would add some schools with large fanbases and competitive athletic departments.
A TCU fan on KillerFrogs.com stated that the average mileage would increase from 1,158 miles in the MWC to 1,287 miles in the BE.
With that said, most of that board don't put much stock in the rumor and no "insiders" have stated that there is teeth to it.
If the Frogs did leave, the MWC would hang their hat on Boise, Fresno, and Air Force. That is essentially the WAC all over again. In that scenario, AFA would certainly look at going Indy. With BYU, ND, Army, and Navy available for scheduling it could work to their advantage. Maybe AFA, Army, and Navy could combine together to get a TV package.