The long-running football series between SMU and TCU will go on hiatus after the 2025 season, multiple media outlets reported on Wednesday.
The Mustangs from Dallas and the Horned Frogs from Fort Worth have been playing football against one another for more than 100 years. The rivalry is celebrated as “The Battle for the Iron Skillet.”
The Christian schools will play on September 23 this season at TCU. They’re scheduled at SMU in 2024 and at TCU in 2025.
TCU, which leads the all-time series dating to 1915 with a record of 52-42-7, won last year’s game 42-34 in Dallas. The game was not played in 1919, 1920, 1925, 1987, 1988, 2006, or 2020.
The Horned Frogs, who reportedly initiated the pause, played for the national title last season, losing to Georgia. They’re ranked in the top 20 going into this season, as previously reported in a preview by The Dallas Express.
TCU confirmed the reports Wednesday afternoon to The Dallas Morning News.
The rivalry has been one-sided in recent years, with TCU winning 18 of the last 22 meetings. SMU snapped a seven-game losing streak in 2019 and won again in 2021. The 2021 meeting included a postgame melee between the teams.
TCU hired coach Sonny Dykes from SMU before the 2022 season.