The long-running “Battle for the Iron Skillet” rivalry series between TCU and SMU will be put on pause following the 2025 season, a TCU spokesperson confirmed to CBS Sports on Wednesday. TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati cited a desire for the Horned Frogs to increase their annual number of home games in explaining the decision to put the series, which dates back to 1915, on hiatus.
“We have a tremendous respect for SMU and the Battle of the Iron Skillet, which dates back over one hundred years,” Donati told 247Sports. “Playing more home games has been a priority for us and our fans, and is, most importantly, in the best interest of the TCU Football program. We look forward to annually having seven home games and as many as eight in certain years. As our future non-conference schedules evolve, we keep open the possibility of future games with the Mustangs.”
SMU athletic director Rick Hart expressed disappointment over TCU’s decision, indicating the Mustangs wanted the series to continue.
“It is disappointing that TCU made the decision to ‘pause’ our football series,” Hart said in a statement sent to The Dallas Morning News. “It’s disappointing for Metroplex football fans. This is a rivalry that has spanned a century-plus. It is the Battle for the Iron Skillet, Dallas vs. Fort Worth, Doak Walker versus Sammy Baugh, the Pony Express versus LaDainian Tomlinson, and more, It’s the game Grantland Rice, the famous sportswriter called ‘The Game of the Century’ in 1935. It is the very fabric of college football. Our hope is that TCU will resume the series, as we want to continue this rivalry in perpetuity.”
The TCU-SMU series has been played more than 100 times, making it the latest casualty among several long-running college football…
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