FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 on Monday night, seizing an opportunity to be a part of a conference with natural geographic rivals despite the league's recent instability.

The board of trustees unanimously approved the move and Chancellor Victor Boschini Jr. made the expected announcement in front a packed room of more than 200 people. Athletic director Chris Del Conte fought back tears as he recalled receiving the phone call from the Horned Frogs' new conference last week.

"This is living proof that dreams do come true," he said.

The move could provide some much-needed stability for the Big 12, which lost Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-12) over the summer and will lose Texas A&M to the Southeastern Conference next year. Missouri is also exploring a move to the SEC.

TCU has a strong football background that includes celebrated athletes from the 1930s -- including Heisman Trophy winner Davey O'Brien and All-American Sammy Baugh, who both played in the NFL. More recent alums include New York Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson and Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton.

The Horned Frogs went 13-0 last season and won the Rose Bowl. They also went undefeated in the 2009 regular season, then lost to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

"It was a challenge winning the Rose Bowl ... and there's been a lot of people that told us we couldn't do a lot of different things, and so we're going to take it one step at a time," football coach Gary Patterson said after the announcement. "It's not going to be easy ... but I do believe that if the Big 12 did not feel like we couldn't be competitive in the league, then they wouldn't have asked us."

Patterson said the financial benefit of being in the Big 12 and resuming those rivalries also will help Fort Worth.

"Are you going to win 10 to 12 games every year? Probably not," Patterson said. "But the key is ... to have a chance to challenge for the conference title, always try to get back to bowl games, and that's going to be our goal is to do it like we've always done it: one game at a time."

Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas told the crowd that TCU has an outstanding academic record as well as athletics.