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TCU AD Chris Del Conte let the expansion cat out of the bag

TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte is new to the Big 12, so perhaps he can use that as an excuse when DeLoss Dodds and the rest of the Big 12 athletic directing contingent blow up his phone Wednesday after remarks he made at a Committee for Champions breakfast on the Texas Tech campus.

According to Chris Level of Rivals' RedRaiderSports.com, Del Conte, who was trying to pump up his new conference, told the group of about 200 that while the Big 12 was once in trouble, it "now has schools like Florida State, Clemson and Miami trying to get in."

Unfortunately, that was supposed to be a secret.

While rumors have been floating around about interest between the Big 12 and those ACC teams, no one had actually confirmed it - until now.

Prior to Del Conte's slip of the tongue, Florida State had done nothing but deny there was any interest in the Seminoles leaving the ACC. Clemson and Miami also had remained mute on the subject.

But there were too many rumors floating around to think that the whole thing might not have some legs.

Del Conte was a little more judicious while appearing on the Double T radio show this morning. While he acknowledged that expansion is on the horizon, he also noted that the Big 12 was in a position of power and could take its time choosing the right candidates.

"From my standpoint of right now, I want to stay let's take our breath. We are in a position of strength. Let's not rush into anything. We know expansion has to happen. It may not be for a while. We are in the catbird seat right now. We don't need to rush it. You are excited all of these teams want into the Big 12 and two years ago it was going to disintegrate."

It's doubtful that Del Conte's words will actually bring about any backlash, but he'll surely know in the future to spin his words more carefully.

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