We see you, TCU.
The Horned Frogs have an opportunity to make college football history on Monday night, when Max Duggan and the rest of the TCU football squad takes the field against the Georgia Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are angling for their second consecutive national title, while Sonny Dykes’ boys made the college playoff in his first year at the helm.
There are many questions that fans have asked regarding TCU’s miraculous run to the national championship: Can they win? Is Duggan an NFL quarterback?
MORE: Watch Georgia vs. TCU live on fuboTV (free trial)
Arguably the biggest question that some viewers have been asking entering the showdown between TCU and Georgia, though, is the following:
What does TCU stand for, anyway? The Sporting News has the answer for you:
TCU stands for “Texas Christian University.” The Fort Worth school, which was founded in 1873, wasn’t named Texas Christian University until 1902, and has widely been known as “TCU” since then. The school was affiliated with Disciples of Christ, a Protestant denomination of Christianity, since its inception.
Through the years the school’s religious roots have diminished, leading to the school leaning more towards “TCU” and less toward Texas Christian University. The college went through something of an unofficial “rebrand” to strengthen the TCU name; it didn’t want to seem like a Christian-exclusive college, and wanted to invite those of any faiths.
Case in point: The team’s media guide in 2011 advised press and broadcasters to refer to the school simply as “TCU” (per the Athletic). TCU won the Rose Bowl that year over Wisconsin, the most high-profile victory in program history.
The school, though, still receives funding from Disciples of Christ and hasn’t shied away from its religious foundation.
Just for kicks, here are some other famous TCUs:
Tauranga City United: A New Zealand association soccer team.
Towering cumulus cloud (TCu): Several types of cloud.
Transportation Communications Union: A labor group for railroad-related workers.
Only one of those TCUs is playing for a national championship on Monday night, though. (It’s not the railroad workers.)
