IRVING - TCU football is about to face a dramatically different path to a Big 12 championship, and the Horned Frogs won't have a December title game to rescue a season that falls short of expectations.

The Big 12 Conference announced Monday that its 2026 football championship game will be the last, ending a tradition that has played a major role in the league's history and TCU's rise as a national contender.

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The decision follows the College Football Playoff's approved expansion to 24 teams beginning with the 2027 season. Under the new format, the Big 12's automatic playoff berth will go to its regular-season champion.

For TCU, that means every conference game will carry additional weight.

There won't be a championship game offering the Horned Frogs one final opportunity to defeat the league's top team and claim the trophy.

The final Edward Jones Big 12 Football Championship is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. CT on ABC.

It's a fitting location for a conference championship that has produced some memorable moments for TCU fans, including one that helped launch the program into college football history.

In 2022, the Horned Frogs entered the Big 12 Championship undefeated before suffering a heartbreaking 31-28 overtime loss to Kansas State.

Despite that defeat, TCU still earned a College Football Playoff berth, defeated Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl and advanced to the national championship game against Georgia.

That remarkable run demonstrated how a conference championship loss didn't necessarily have to end a team's national title ambitions.

Under the expanded playoff structure, TCU could have more opportunities to reach the postseason without winning the Big 12, but its path to the conference's automatic bid will depend entirely on regular-season results.

The change also brings back memories of TCU's 2014 season.

Gary Patterson's Horned Frogs finished 11-1 and shared the Big 12 title with Baylor, only to be excluded from the inaugural four-team playoff.

That controversy became one of the defining arguments for conference championship games and expanded postseason access.

Now, more than a decade later, the sport is moving in a different direction.

The Big 12 plans to honor its championship game's history with tributes to former commissioners, coaches and championship teams during December's farewell event.

For TCU coach Sonny Dykes, the challenge moving forward will be straightforward: win consistently throughout the conference schedule.

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There won't be a second chance in Arlington.

And for the Horned Frogs, a program that has already experienced the heartbreak and opportunity created by championship weekend, college football's next chapter will bring an entirely new set of stakes.

Source: Yahoo Sports