Just a few short years after leaving the Mountain West for the Pac-12 and Big 12 respectively, Utah and TCU have answered the question of whether a "mid-major" can successfully transition into a major conference.
The year was 2009 and the University of Utah and Texas Christian University were the belles of the ball in the Mountain West Conference. Utah was coming off an undefeated season and Sugar Bowl win, and TCU was in the process of completing and undefeated regular season along with Western Athletic Conference champ Boise State. The three programs had been challenging the BCS vs.