Nothing is more Texan than college football. And nothing may be less Irish — save for Notre Dame — than college football.
But come Aug. 26, the twain shall meet as the Texas Christian University football team calls “hut” in the Emerald Isle.
The Frogs play the University of North Carolina Tar Heels in Dublin for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, a now — since 2022 — annual event that brings college football teams across the pond as an exercise in sports diplomacy.
Despite the cultural sports differences, both Ireland and Fort Worth are seeing green.
For Ireland, it’s tourist dollars as fans travel and spend in copious amounts. For TCU, and by extension Fort Worth, it is a chance to elevate its profile to a worldwide market.
The game won’t be the first opportunity for the Horned Frogs to market its brand internationally. A FIFA World Cup 2026 team will use TCU as its training base for the worldwide event taking place in Arlington next year.
Neale Richmond, Ireland’s deputy minister for foreign affairs and trade, was at TCU this fall to discuss the importance the football game is to his country.
“It’s an opportunity to get people to Ireland — 58,000 Texans came last year,” he said, referring to the total number of Lone Star visitors over the year.
That could double with this game, he said. But it is much more than just tourism, he stressed.
“The economic impact of this one game is worth about 150 million euros to Dublin alone,” Richmond said.
Richmond said the annual college football game is now a way to strengthen relations, create new ones and showcase Ireland’s culture and business. That’s particularly important in Texas, he stressed.
“There are 40 Irish companies in Texas employing about 24,000 people,” Richmond said. Ireland is now the fifth-largest country in foreign direct investment in the United States, up from seventh previously.
Much of that is concentrated in Texas, with the trading relationship between Ireland and the Lone Star State worth 4.8 billion euros every year, he said.
Irish companies investing in the United States include those in technology, health care, life sciences, aviation and financial services, he said.
“We have a company here locally that is doing work in drone technology, so this aviation focus here is key to us,” Richmond said.
For the university, the trip to the land of leprechauns, has its own pot of gold. But it’s not all about money and more about experience, TCU Chancellor Daniel Pullin said.
“If you look at TCU’s mission statement, it’s really about preparing ethical and responsible leaders for a global community,” he said. “Everything that we do, including our strategic plan, flows from that mission.”
This event will strengthen the career possibilities for TCU students, whether in Texas, Dublin or other areas of the world, Pullin said.
Texas Christian University Chancellor Daniel W. Pullin poses for a photo on Oct. 3, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
About 40% of TCU students study abroad, officials said. Part of the school’s strategic plan calls for that to increase to well over 50%. Creating more connections with Ireland and Irish companies would be one way to accomplish that, Pullin said.
“If we can do that, we can truly be living our mission where more Horned Frogs see the world than don’t,” said Pullin.
Students need more exposure to the outside world, Pullin said.
Turning purple to green
What: Aer Lingus College Football Classic
Who: TCU Horned Frogs vs. University of North Carolina Tar Heels
When: Aug. 29, 2026
Where: Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland
Horned Frog fans interested in a trip to the Emerald Isle to enjoy a little football can visit Frogs2Ireland.com. Official TCU travel and hospitality packages will become available on May 8, 2026.
“But we also recognize that everything that we’re learning in the classroom, teaching our students, is best applied when we’re not on campus, when we see a world bigger than just the beautiful 300 acres that we call home every day,” he said.
Meanwhile, TCU has gone from being a regional university to a national brand, Pullin said.
“Why wouldn’t we build on that momentum? Why wouldn’t we take that across the pond?” Pullin said.
For Horned Frogs like Jeff Moten, who graduated in 1986 and is a longtime area banker, the game is an indication of how far the school and the football team have come since he was a student.
“It’s amazing to see the changes from the ’70s when we were one of the worst teams in college football,” he said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the team or the school. They’ve just made all the right moves.”
Moten already has plans to attend the game, but admits he is going more to spend time with his father, also a TCU graduate.
“The game will be part of it, but we’re also going to be golfing and spending time together beforehand.”
The Frogs will give up a lucrative home game in Fort Worth to play in Dublin, but the experience for the players is more than worth it, said Mike Buddie, TCU’s director of intercollegiate athletics. His point was proven when he asked the Horned Frog team how many had passports.
“I thought 90% of the guys would raise their hand,” he said. “It was less than half. I looked around that room with these young people and thought, ‘How great it would be for a 21- to 22-year-old to go to Dublin and experience a fantastic culture and unbelievable experience through a football game?’”
A packed room of people attend a panel in Fort Worth with Neale Richmond, Ireland’s deputy minister for foreign affairs and trade, to discuss the 2026 Aer Lingus College Football Classic on Oct. 3, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Stephen Kavanagh, co-chair of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic and former CEO of Aer Lingus, said the game is about commerce, yes, but more about long-lasting connections between two cultures.
“This is about relationships — education, business, socially, culturally,” Kavanagh said. “If you want to call it diplomacy, it ultimately is about diplomacy.”
Richmond added that TCU’s presence in Dublin is just the beginning of a relationship that extends to Fort Worth, its students and alumni.
“For those who embrace it fully, it’s a chance to create enduring ties — personal, professional and academic,” he said. “Dublin isn’t just a city; it’s a hub for engagement, and we welcome the Horned Frogs with open arms.”
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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