![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_6977.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\t\t<\/p>\n
Sampson convinces a group of students to cancel plans and come to the team\u2019s home opener in 2016. | Reagan Earnst\/The Cougar<\/p>\n
In 2016, coach Kelvin Sampson walked around campus, megaphone in hand, pleading for students to fill empty seats at the basketball games. Today, those same seats are sold out weeks in advance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d go disrupt the student center, just begging people to come to the game,\u201d Sampson said.<\/p>\n
The early days in the American Athletic Conference<\/strong><\/p>\n Sampson was hired as the head basketball coach of the University of Houston on April 2, 2014. \u201cI\u2019ve been lucky most of my career,\u201d Sampson said. \u201cSometimes when opportunity meets luck, you can create some good things.\u201d<\/p>\n In his first season, the Cougars finished with just a 13-19 record and managed only four conference wins. UH finished second-to-last in the conference, only ahead of South Florida.<\/p>\n The outcomes were drastically different in his following two seasons, with a 22-10 record in 2015 and 21-11 in 2016. These were the last double-digit loss seasons of his career.<\/p>\n From the 2017-18 season until Houston\u2019s last year in the American Athletic Conference, Houston was always at or near the top of the conference and gained national recognition. In that span, the Cougars won four regular-season AAC championships along with two AAC Tournament championships. Houston also ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time since 1983 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament every season, including a trip to the Final Four in 2021.<\/p>\n To achieve such a remarkable stretch of consistent success and completely turn around a program that had been at the bottom of the standings, it took more than luck. Sampson\u2019s complete remodel of the program\u2019s identity and dedication to success is what led Houston basketball to where it is today.<\/p>\n \u201cHouston needed me for sure, but I needed Houston too,\u201d Samspon said. \u201cI wanted something I could build from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n Big 12 breakthrough<\/b><\/p>\n It\u2019s completely different from the early days in the AAC to now, where the Cougars\u2019 basketball team consistently plays in sold-out arenas and is among the top-ranked basketball teams. The team has won back-to-back Big 12 regular-season titles, becoming the first newcomer to accomplish this feat since Idaho in 1921-23.<\/p>\n In Houston\u2019s first two seasons in the Big 12, the Cougars have combined for an overall record of 67-10, going 26-4 in conference play. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I am surprised. I think I am more shocked. I thought it would take time to adjust to the caliber of the Big 12,\u201d ESPN analyst Jay Williams said. \u201cI think I\u2019m more shocked that it translated so quickly to dominance. This is dominance.\u201d<\/p>\n Houston\u2019s successful basketball seasons have put the school on the map, not only improving the school\u2019s sports programs but also the entire University.<\/p>\n \u201cJoining the Big 12 conference marks a significant milestone for the University of Houston,\u201d UH President Renu Khator said. \u201cIt will propel us to even greater heights in the classrooms and on the playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n Academic recognition and student-athlete excellence<\/b><\/p>\n While the University of Houston officials cannot directly correlate an increase in applications to the success the basketball team has had over the years, they do understand that the attention the team receives can affect the numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt creates interest in the University\u201d, UH executive director of admissions Mardell Maxwell said. \u201cWhen our teams are having success, it elevates the brand in a way we can\u2019t do in admissions.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the move to the Big 12, Houston has been recently named a \u201cbest value college\u201d by the Princeton Review. Houston also boasts one of the top nursing<\/a> and entrepreneurship<\/a> programs in the country, and their athletes achieved a record-setting GPA of a combined 3.24 in the fall of 2024 and are consistently pushed to succeed in the classroom.<\/p>\n \u201cI am extremely proud of the dedication our student\u2011athletes have shown, balancing the demands of the classroom and on the field,\u201d Assistant Athletics Director for Academic Services Tatjana Banjeglav said. \u201cTheir academic success is a testament to their hard work, discipline, and commitment to excellence both as students and athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n Cultural shift and national spotlight<\/b><\/p>\n The exposure in the Big 12 is entirely different than the AAC: more nationally televised games, reignited rivalries with programs like Baylor, TCU and Kansas and a deeper sense of pride resonating throughout campus, sparked by the leaders of UH.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a cultural transformation, and what\u2019s going on in athletics can be seen in so many parts of the University,\u201d Khator said. \u201cIt\u2019s about the culture of being hungry, wanting excellence, whether it\u2019s on the court, in the classroom, or in a research lab.\u201d<\/p>\n Financial growth and facility expansion<\/b><\/p>\n Financially, the conference jump has been game-changing. Revenue shares have soared from around $7 million in the American Athletic Conference to over $40 million in the Big 12<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This economic boost has been matched by the results of the Houston Rise fundraising campaign<\/a>, led by Khator and former athletics director Chris Pezman, which raised over $50 million to enhance the university\u2019s athletic infrastructure.<\/p>\n Major renovation projects are underway at UH, including the recent completion of the $130 million Memorial Hermann Football Operations Center, upgrades to TDECU Stadium, soon to be rebranded as Space City Financial Stadium and continued enhancements to the Fertitta Center.<\/p>\n Football momentum and leadership impact<\/b><\/p>\n Football, under second-year head coach Willie Fritz, is following suit. Fritz has placed a spotlight on facilities during recruiting visits. \u201cNew recruits see it every single day, and it\u2019s going to be one of the top facilities in the nation when it\u2019s all completed,\u201d Fritz said.<\/p>\n The Cougars have already improved in the Big 12 Conference since Fritz joined the staff in the 2024 season, and he has achieved a trio of upset wins over Utah, TCU and Kansas State.<\/p>\n Houston gained national attention in the offseason by signing Conner Weigman, who was a top transfer quarterback in the portal. The Cougars also acquired standout running back Dean Conner from their rival, the Rice Owls.<\/p>\n The Cougars stayed aggressive in this year\u2019s portal cycle by landing 30 transfers, completely reloading for the upcoming season.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Fritz and staff are also hard at work on the 2026 high school recruiting class, where the Cougars rank in the top 40 and fifth in the Big 12<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The class is highlighted by quarterback Keisean Henderson, who is the No. 2 overall recruit in the country, and the highest ever recruit in Houston football history since Ed Oliver, a top defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to recruit the heck out of the state of Texas,\u201d Fritz said. \u201cThe best football in the country is played in this state.\u201d<\/p>\n Fritz is sticking to that same game plan, as 13 out of 16 overall recruits in the 2026 class are from Texas and the other three are from Louisiana.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done a super job with our high school class last year and we are going to do a great job with the upcoming 2026 class,\u201d Fritz said.<\/p>\n Continuing the culture<\/strong><\/p>\n New athletic director Eddie Nu\u00f1ez is also turning heads with his fan-first approach. He\u2019s continuing what Sampson started by rallying students and fans to pack the stands and elevate the in-game experience.<\/p>\n \u201cMake it a problem for me at the Fertitta Center,\u201d Nu\u00f1ez said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have a ticket, show up anyway and they\u2019ll find a way to get you in.\u201d<\/p>\n Fan growth and ticketing success<\/b><\/p>\n In Houston\u2019s final year in the AAC in the 2022-2023 season, Houston men\u2019s basketball home attendance averaged<\/a> 7,450 fans per game and totaled 134,093 on the season. After two seasons in the Big 12, there was a significant increase in support. In the 2024-2025 season, the total average attendance in all games was 8,355 fans per game compared to the 8,054 average in the final year of the AAC.<\/p>\n