Eddie Nuñez speaks to media and donors during update for Memorial Hermann Football Operations Center, January 2025.
Now in his second year as the University of Houston’s athletic director, Eddie Nuñez has seen the football program elevate its game across several facets.
Notably, Houston completed construction of its $160 million football operations center and installed one of the largest video boards in the nation inside TDECU Stadium. As for the on field product, this offseason the Cougars welcomed their highest-ranked transfer portal class since it began in 2018.
Now, as Houston stands 4-0 and is off to its best start since 2016, Nuñez understands that his upcoming projects will focus more on the experience in and around TDECU Stadium than on-field results.
“I know it starts and ends with that experience,” Nuñez said. “When you think about our fanbase and those that are visiting our stadium, our facilities, the first thing they’re doing is driving in.”
Nuñez has been working on managing inflow and outflow from the stadium since early in the year, after observing improvements in traffic during men’s basketball games.
But, if going from 7,000 fans at the Fertitta Center to the 40,000-plus expected in Houston’s clash with No. 11 Texas Tech wasn’t daunting enough, the ongoing Centennial Project has made the mission all the more complex with a major closure of University Drive off Spur 5 and a portion of Cougar Village Drive closed closer to the stadium.
The 100-year anniversary project has caused more construction, requiring students and commuters to adjust their schedules for closures, detours and traffic.
It’s an inconvenience that Nuñez knows will have a ripple effect on fans, who will have to navigate those same closures and routes just to enter TDECU Stadium.
Managing that process, however, isn’t something that UH Athletics alone can solve.
The many departments involved are overseen by different groups, which makes it hard for athletics to make all the decisions they prefer.
It’s become less about telling different departments, including police, parking and concessions, what to do, to working together to coordinate the next steps and create a more seamless experience for fans.
“The one thing is working with everybody to understand we’re trying to do everything we can as a group,” Nuñez said. “But it does take time to get everybody to understand how we can redefine some things.”
As they work toward overcoming on-campus challenges, Nuñez all season long has reiterated arriving earlier, to avoid complications and ensure fans get the full gameday experience.
One that on Saturday, will include the season’s first sellout crowd and the most student tickets claimed all year.
Nearly 7,000 student tickets were received in the home opener against Stephen F. Austin, which rose to 9,241 versus Colorado.
Anything more would set a new record.
“Our students are doing a great job. When they’re getting out and they’re tailgating,” Nuñez said. “The more we can show that this can be a full day experience will be great.”
It is a marquee matchup for Houston, but also a benchmark for athletics and the school’s efforts to better the gameday environment.
sports@thedailycougar.com