If the Big 12 did end up making a move to expand, then he had to insure that Texas Christian was the only real option they ever considered. To do so would require him to use every tool he had in his arsenal and spearhead an advocacy campaign for the university on a scale never before seen in college athletics.
“Chris’ incredible work ethic is rivaled only by his charm,” opines Boschini. “He was relentless during those critical few weeks we were in conference limbo. He created a battle plan for us, ‘you call these six people and I’ll call these six’, ‘you’re going to be in Los Angeles, make sure you happen to run into this person’. In the span of those 4 or 5 weeks, we literally spoke to hundreds of donors, politicians and friends we had that could put pressure on the [Big 12] presidents to let us into the league. It was emotionally exhausting work, but Chris kept pushing and pushing. His charisma is simply contagious – once you catch a glimpse of the vision he’s trying to project, you’re hooked.”
Wow a AD working behind the scenes to lobby for the next available conference spot, that's a radical idea. I think the common thought is that a Caribbean 'working vacation' is the way to get into a conference. Actually building personal relations and actively touting your strengths seems like it might work as well.