“We do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor. We play very fine schools on any given day.”
And with that statement eight years ago, former Ohio State University president Gordon Gee set into motion tonight’s nationally televised game between the #4 Buckeyes and #15 TCU.
Gee’s “Little Sisters of the Poor” remark came before the Frogs finished their undefeated 2010 season with a Rose Bowl victory and before they were in the Big 12.
TCU was deep into an undefeated 2010 season that was capped by a Rose Bowl victory and Boise State was still a few days away from its only loss when Gee, then at Ohio State, said the BCS-busting Horned Frogs and Broncos didn’t deserve to be in the Bowl Championship Series title game even if they wound up undefeated.
“I do know, having been both a Southeastern Conference president and a Big Ten president, that it’s like murderer’s row every week for these schools. We do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor. We play very fine schools on any given day. So I think until a university runs through that gantlet that there’s some reason to believe that they not be the best teams to be in the big ballgame.”
This was before TCU became a Power Five team in the Big 12, where Gee is now president at West Virginia and chairman of the league’s board of directors.
This was also before the BCS gave way to the four-team College Football Playoff, and before Ohio State jumped past Big 12 co-champions TCU and Baylor for the fourth and final spot in the inaugural CFP field in 2014 on the way to winning the national title.
In early 2011, both schools decided they should meet on the field someday.
That someday is tonight..
But, despite making the game possible, Gee now refuses to take a side:
“I was privileged to serve as president of The Ohio State University for 14 years and I love the Buckeyes! I am also now privileged to be in the Big 12 and serve as chairman of the conference, and I have great admiration for TCU and its football program. In deference to both teams, I will be watching the WVU women’s soccer game on Saturday.”
C’mon. Everyone knows Gee is secretly cheering for the Buckeyes!
Ohio State vs TCU, tonight at 8 pm on ABC.