PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- As a future member of the Big East, TCU coach Gary Patterson attended spring meetings here Monday along with other officials from the school's athletic department.

The main reason Patterson was here was to get to know his fellow league coaches better and to hear about rules changes discussed during a morning meeting. (TCU does not have voting privileges until it joins the league next year). Patterson was out the door by noon for a flight back to Fort Worth, but the meetings were productive just as a way of having a feel for what to expect when TCU joins the league.

TCU does face an interesting season in 2011, one in which it will straddle the line between the Mountain West and the Big East. Patterson said all he is focused on is winning another conference championship.

"I don’t think anybody is considering us a lame duck in the situation of how we plan to do things," Patterson said. "For me, you’ve got to play the games. My biggest key is to try to grow up and put the best football team I can get on the field. That’s all I’ve been worrying about -- and make sure my stadium is ready for the first home game."

Where TCU will fit into the future Big East schedule is one item on the agenda, but there are no real concerns for Patterson because TCU will play four home games and four away games, as it does in the Mountain West right now. As for whether players on his team are getting excited about the move to an automatic qualifying conference, Patterson said, "The excitement is our new recruiting class. They’re the ones the Big East is going to have an affect on. We haven’t talked much about it. Our whole thing is getting a chance to try to win a championship in the league that we’re in."