Dear Grambling From TCU, We Left the New Lights On for You

TCU welcomes undefeated Grambling State to Fort Worth with a heartfelt warning about an irritated Horned Frogs team, the Tigers’ celebrated history and some extremely expensive new lights.

Nov 8, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; The TCU Horned Frogs mascot takes the field before the game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dear Grambling,

Welcome to Fort Worth.

We hope you enjoy your visit, eat some BBQ and Tex-Mex, and spend plenty of money while you’re here. Our city is growing at a ridiculous rate, and apparently, all those cranes are not going to pay for themselves.

This will be only the second time TCU and Grambling State have met on a football field. The first was also at Amon G. Carter Stadium, back in 2012.

We won 56–0.

Grambling State last visited Fort Worth in 2012 when the Frogs beat the Tigers 56-0 | Keith Robinson

There really is not a gracious or charming way to work that into the conversation, so we might as well acknowledge it quickly and move along.

Fourteen years later, the Tigers are returning to Fort Worth for TCU’s first home game of the 2026 season. This time, you are getting a Saturday night game at The Carter and the official unveiling of our brand-new programmable LED lights.

That’s right. We finally have fancy lights.

Apparently, they can flash, change colors, synchronize with music, and turn every touchdown into a miniature nightclub experience. 

We have absolutely no idea whether this will help our football team, but it’s gonna look really cool.

Get ready Fort Worth
Protect the Carter https://t.co/MbHoImvOQ0

— Ryan L. Peck (@Ryan_Peck) July 24, 2026

Two Schools With Much More History Than One Football Game

TCU and Grambling may not have much history together, but both programs have more than enough history of their own.

TCU began playing football in 1896. Since then, the Horned Frogs have won national championships, produced Heisman Trophy winner Davey O’Brien, survived the collapse of the Southwest Conference, wandered through several conferences, and eventually landed in the Big 12.

We also made it all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game after the 2022 season. 

We got there after beating the undefeated Michigan Wolverines in the semi-finals.  It’s like everyone got amnesia and forgot about that detail. 

We don’t need to discuss what happened after that. We know.

But I digress…

The important thing is that we were there.

Grambling’s football history is impossible to discuss without starting with Eddie Robinson.

Robinson led the Tigers for 55 seasons across 57 years, won 408 games, and built Grambling into one of the most important programs in college football history. His teams won championships, opened doors, and sent generations of players into professional football.

Doug Williams, James “Shack” Harris, Willie Brown, Buck Buchanan, and Paul “Tank” Younger are only a few of the legendary names connected to Grambling football.

This is not simply an old football program coming to Fort Worth.

This is one of the most historically significant programs in the sport.

We Need to Discuss the Band

Grambling State Band at Amon G Carter Stadium, home of the TCU Horned Frogs, back in 2012 | Keith Robinson, TCU Alumni

Of course, Grambling is also home to the World-Famed Tiger Marching Band.

The band began in 1926, which means it is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. A hundred years of music, precision, pageantry, and showing football crowds that halftime does not have to be the portion of the game when everyone leaves to get a beer.

At most college football games, the band supports the show.

At Grambling, the band is the show.

So, naturally, we have one important question:

Are you bringing them?

Because we have brand-new lights, you have a world-famous band, and it seems irresponsible not to put those two things together.

A Saturday Night at The Carter

Your visit will also be our first chance to see the Horned Frogs at home in 2026.

TCU opened the season against North Carolina in Dublin, Ireland, and, thankfully, got a bye before facing you all in Fort Worth.

We should be rested.

We are definitely not over it.

Fan post on X after TCU losing to North Carolina in season opener, Ireland, 2026 | screen capture by Ryann Zeller, KillerFrogs.com

More importantly, the Frogs have had two weeks to think about that loss. They have mistakes to correct, points to prove, and a home crowd expecting a response.

So, we should probably apologize in advance.

You just happen to be next.

This is nothing personal.

Probably.

The Carter at night is special. It is loud, it is beautiful, and it feels like home.

Now it will also blink.

Perhaps flash.

Possibly pulse dramatically every time TCU scores.

I wonder what it will do when your players enter Hell’s Half Acre?

Nobody really knows yet. That is why they call it an unveiling.

You are essentially joining us for the stadium’s first lighting experiment, and we appreciate your willingness to participate.

Welcome to the Frogdom

Grambling, we are genuinely glad you are coming.

There are certain names in college football that carry weight far beyond wins, losses, and conference standings. Grambling is one of those names.

Your program represents history, excellence, opportunity, culture, and generations of players who helped change football.

Grambling State visits TCU for the second time in school history. The first time was in 2012. | Keith Robinson, TCU Alumni

We are honored to welcome that history to Fort Worth.

We hope your fans enjoy the city, enjoy the stadium, and enjoy everything surrounding the game.

Not necessarily the game itself.

We do have limits.

But we hope you have a wonderful weekend, make some new friends, and enjoy The Carter under the lights...

Those extremely expensive, highly programmable, brand-new LED lights.

We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Love,

KillerFrogs