Should be a fun little Monday, what with the Horned Frogs agreeing to join the Big East in 2012. The addition helps both sides and gives the Big East whatever leverage it needed for remaining in the BCS and staying very visible nationally.

The addition of the Horned Frogs will immediately bolster the football league. It also would increase the basketball membership to 17 teams.

The Horned Frogs (12-0) are ranked No. 3 in the current BCS rankings and are guaranteed a BCS bowl. By adding TCU for the 2012-13 school year, the Horned Frogs would take “all of their data to their new league,” BCS spokesman Bill Hancock told FanHouse.

The current four-year evaluation period for the BCS concludes in December 2011, so TCU’s past BCS rankings – three consecutive top 11 BCS rankings, including this year – will transfer to the Big East since it joined the league before the 2012-13 school year.

The current 2008-11 evaluation period is being used to determine if a seventh conference earns automatic qualifying status for the 2012 and 2013 regular seasons – and the Mountain West (TCU’s current home) will not qualify. The Big East, however, already has its automatic qualifying status for the 2012 and 2013 regular seasons by virtue of the contracts, Hancock said.

Adding TCU also would strengthen its position when the league starts renegotiating its television contracts that expires after the 2013 season.

It’s a big leap of for both sides, though a greater one for the Big East. TCU is joining the weakest of the BCS leagues, but it knows where its future is now and knows there will be money there as part of a BCS football league. And I’d have to think the Horned Frogs believe they can win the league a few times and considered that when mulling their options.

As for the Big East, yes, it gets a major footballprogram, but it has to hope TCU remains competitive these next two seasons and no one scoops up Gary Patterson. If one or both becomes an issue, well, that’s an issue.

What’s next? Well, I’d be surprised if Villanova didn’t join at this point. It’d give the Big East its 10 football teams, which creates the possibility for a championship game. You can still have an 18-game conference schedule for basketball, too, by having one school play the other 16 once and two schools twice.

I suppose you could still add a UCF and have 10 football teams and another big market, as well as the 18-game conference schedule for basketball (play 16 schools once, one twice). The basketball schools might not like that, or a move to, say, 20 games, but they’re outnumbered now.

Curious to hear your thoughts on the move and what and/or who is next.