TCU defensive end Paul Oyewale speaks with reporters July 8 about TCU’s game in Dublin, Ireland, during Big 12 Conference Football Media Days at The Star.
Raymond Carlin III
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
In the spirit of Texas Christian University’s commitment to “Lead On,” an opportunity unlike any other in our 153-year history awaits us Aug. 29.
For the first time the Horned Frogs football team will take an international field as the home team in Dublin, Ireland, meeting the University of North Carolina in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. This is a significant milestone for our team, our university, our city and our state.
Because of this game, and the year of collaboration that led to this moment, TCU and the greater Fort Worth community can claim a distinction few universities and cities ever earn.
We are demonstrating the power of sports diplomacy.
When a single football game becomes the catalyst for connecting a lord mayor, a government minister, an ambassador, city, state and economic development leaders, dozens of CEOs and a classroom of world-class faculty and students, sport stops merely being sport. It becomes a bridge. A game like this opens doors that traditional diplomacy cannot, building trust through a shared passion and turning a Saturday afternoon into lasting relationships linking Fort Worth and Dublin.
As thrilling as the game will be, it is about so much more. This once-in-a-lifetime moment carries the TCU brand, our values, our spirit and our deepest ambitions onto the global stage.
For our student-athletes, it is the experience of a lifetime: the opportunity to represent both their university and their country on an international field while carrying themselves, as Horned Frogs always do, with integrity.
This global reach extends well beyond athletics. TCU Neeley School of Business students will compete in an international business case competition alongside scholars from three other universities, and Horned Frogs from across our university will engage with new cultures and learn from perspectives that extend well beyond our Fort Worth home.
Leaders in Ireland have organized a range of events that will prominently feature TCU voices, from a medical innovation symposium to a global investment conference. Several lawmakers and civic leaders will make the journey as well, strengthening cross-Atlantic ties.
Before kickoff, TCU and UNC will co-host an admissions event attended by more than a dozen counselors from prominent UK secondary schools, where we will share firsthand what makes a TCU education distinctive.
All of these experiences will create memories for our fans that will outlast any final score — lifelong memories in the Emerald Isle with the same excitement of game day at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
With ESPN carrying the game to national and international viewers and news outlets on both sides of the Atlantic covering the event, the marquee opening weekend of the college football season will once again shine a bright spotlight on TCU and our community.
The benefits won’t end with the final whistle; nor will they stop at the university’s perimeter. The state of Texas figures prominently as a key trading partner with Ireland, exporting about $13 billion in goods and services, and efforts such as this one provide opportunities for North Texas companies to forge new trade and deepen existing collaboration. What begins as a football game develops into meaningful, rewarding partnerships for years to come.
None of this happened by accident. When we welcomed Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam, Ireland’s Minister of State Neale Richmond and other Irish leaders to our campus last October, we sat together for a candid conversation about how sport, education and commerce can strengthen the ties between our nations. We left that day with more than goodwill. Those conversations laid the groundwork for everything unfolding this weekend.
The road to Dublin also ran through our nation’s capital. Last month in Washington, Ireland’s ambassador to the United States, Geraldine Byrne Nason, welcomed leaders from TCU and UNC, members of Congress, and business and civic leaders to celebrate the countdown to kickoff, strengthening TCU in the corridors where so much of our shared future is decided.
Every one of these efforts is a net positive: for our students, our alumni, our faculty and staff, for TCU, Fort Worth and North Texas as a whole.
TCU and Fort Worth are traveling by the thousands, bringing our famous hospitality and unmistakable spirit, and we will proudly roll out the purple carpet along the legendary green fields of Ireland.
I cannot tell you what the scoreboard will read when the final whistle blows in Dublin (although I will be cheering for the Frogs to win by 90). But I can tell you this — TCU has already won. And whatever the score, we will have done what Horned Frogs do best.
We will have led on, together.
Daniel W. Pullin is the 11th chancellor of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
Daniel W. Pullin Courtesy of TCU Do you have an opinion on this topic? Tell us!
We love to hear from Texans with opinions on the news — and to publish those views in the Opinion section.
• Letters should be no more than 150 words.
• Writers should submit letters only once every 30 days.
• Include your name, address (including city of residence), phone number and email address, so we can contact you if we have questions.
You can submit a letter to the editor two ways:
• Email letters@star-telegram.com (preferred).
• Fill out this online form.
Please note: Letters will be edited for style and clarity. Publication is not guaranteed. The best letters are focused on one topic.
Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram