The university will host a Rose Bowl celebration on Sunday in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The event will honor the football team’s Rose Bowl win January 1, and their first undefeated season since 1938.
Although the celebration will take place two weeks after the Rose Bowl game, Athletics Media Relations Director Mark Cohen said the celebration will be for the TCU community after everyone has returned from Christmas break.
“If you are going to do some type of celebration you obviously want your student body to be a big part of it,” Cohen said.
There will be 10,000 commemorative posters to be handed out to early arrivers and the concession and merchandise stands will be open, according to the press release.
Football coach Gary Patterson, Chancellor Victor Boschini, athletic director Chris Del Conte and Mayor Mike Moncrief are scheduled to speak. Rose Bowl representatives will also be on campus to make a formal presentation of the trophy to Patterson at the end of the program, Cohen said.
The 2010 football team, band and spirit team will be in attendance. WFAA, the local ABC affiliate will televise celebration in its entirety.
Cohen recommended for people to come early as the event was expected to be full.
Doors open at 2:30 p.m. and the celebration will begin at 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Del Conte will leave championship debate for another day
While Del Conte said he recognizes the current college football postseason system is imperfect, he also knows a playoff system would also face heavy scrutiny. The playoff debate should be left for another day, he said.
“If we start to cheapen (the Rose Bowl victory), that doesn’t do us any good, we won from the very few institutions outside of the Pac-10 [and] Big Ten to be apart of (the Rose Bowl),” Del Conte said. “And that what I’m trying to get my message to focus on. Everyone’s talking about, “well this just diminished that feat by not playing for the national championship.'”
Del Conte said pundits who argued for a playoff believed Wisconsin could be in the national championship because they were the hottest team in America finishing the regular season. After TCU defeated the Badgers 21-19, the focus should be the school’s accomplishments, regardless of an imperfect 13-0 season, he said.
“Let’s celebrate the fact that we won the Rose Bowl, because all the debate right now isn’t about winning the Rose Bowl, it’s been about how we got screwed,” Del Conte said. “We’ve won something that hasn’t been attainable to too many schools ever in the United States. We’re Rose Bowl champions, and that’s what we’re trying to focus on right now.
“Let’s embrace what we just went through and have a debate after we’ve went through that, we’ve enjoyed it and we’ll have our ceremony on Sunday.”
Rose Bowl Celebration
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Daniel-Meyer
Coliseum