Minnesota Announces Home-And-Home Series Against TCU

From the office of athletic communications:

The University of Minnesota football program has agreed to an upcoming home-and-home series against TCU. The Gophers will visit TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2014, before hosting the Horned Frogs on Sept. 3, 2015.

The 2014 game fills an empty date on Minnesota’s schedule, while the 2015 contest replaces a previously scheduled home game that the Gophers had against South Dakota State.

The Gophers have faced TCU only once in program history, posting a 9-7 win at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis on Sept. 28, 1974.

Additional info from Michael Rand's report over at the Strib:

On Sept. 13, 2014, Minnesota will play at TCU. The Horned Frogs will pay the Gophers $500,000 for that game.

On Sept. 5, 2015, TCU will play the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium, and the Gophers won’t pay anything. In fact, Minnesota was previously scheduled to play South Dakota State on that date, but TCU agreed to take over that contract, which includes a $400,000 buyout for which Minnesota is no longer responsible.

"We are certainly excited about it," said Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague. "[TCU] is a great opponent to bring to TCF Bank Stadium and also a great opponent to play on the road. So it’s a terrific deal financially, and we’re excited moving forward to have a great team on the schedule."

But what does fearless leader Jer have to say about this?

"We made the North Carolina decision with the information we had at that time," Teague said. "We provided a bit of a cushion and some breathing room for ‘13. But we went to a bowl game this year, [Coach Jerry Kill’s] doing a phenomenal job. And we feel like it’s time to put a BCS opponent back on the schedule."

Asked how Kill feels about adding TCU, Teague said, "He’s on board, and we collaborate with him throughout the process. Scheduling is a difficult thing because you never know how good a team’s going to be when you play them, but he’s on board, and we’re moving forward and feel good about it."

So, let's get all this straight:

• Cancelling the UNC series and essentially replacing them with TCU was a net cost of $300K.
• More recruiting exposure in Texas.
• The great rotation away from scheduling FCS teams begins in 2015.
• Kill didn't think the team was ready to play a quality BCS opponent in 2013 but doesn't seem to mind it so much beyond.
• Narratives are destroyed and created, thus proving the law of conservation of #TAKES energy true yet again.