UH Accepts Coveted Invitation to Join Big 12
When Renu Khator stepped on stage at her 2008 investiture ceremony – brimming with positivity and igniting possibility all across campus – the new University of Houston president left no doubt about where she stood on the importance of intercollegiate athletics to the overall success of the institution.
"Strong athletics is essential to our future,” she declared with an undeniable fire in her belly. “And I am prepared to do everything in my power to help us achieve that goal.”
Much like a coach pushes players to dig deeper with the game on the line, President Khator put the nation on notice that a transformational comeback of a once-proud athletics program was about to commence … and it would take a “team effort” to achieve it.
With a strong foundation laid and steady momentum gained, her bold vision materialized over the next decade-plus with numerous significant athletic and academic achievements: Tier One status as a world-class research institution, new venues and practice facilities built for football and basketball, a Peach Bowl victory in 2015 and, most recently, a Final Four appearance.
“Joining the Big 12 Conference is a historic step in our institutional journey and signifies the tremendous growth and success attained academically and athletically over the last decade.”
-Renu Khator
While the adjective “big” is suitable to describe a Power Five athletic conference filled with prestigious programs, it doesn’t quite do this extraordinary turning point justice, considering UH’s arduous trek to get here.
Big? Hey, it’s monumental.
“Joining the Big 12 Conference is a historic step in our institutional journey and signifies the tremendous growth and success attained academically and athletically over the last decade,” Khator said.
“Our expectations for our University remain high, our aspirations continue to be bold, and we embrace this new opportunity to compete at the highest levels in all we do.”
Years in the Making
Following the revelation that the University of Texas and Oklahoma University were both bolting for the prestigious Southeastern Conference by 2025, the Big 12 Board of Directors voted unanimously to expand the league by adding UH, Brigham Young University, University of Cincinnati and the University of Central Florida. Along with the increased prestige of playing in an “autonomy” conference – an NCAA designation that allows conferences to set their own rules under legislation – Houston is predicted to see a substantial rise in revenue. The Big 12’s television deal could generate substantially more than the amount UH currently receives annually in the American Athletic Conference, of which UH has been a member since 2013.
“That TV money creates a difference in a lot of things,” said Kelvin Sampson, UH head men’s basketball coach, who spent 12 years coaching in the Big 12 at Oklahoma.
While the additional money is vital to the continued evolution of the program, Tilman Fertitta, chairman of the UH System Board of Regents, is most thrilled with the renewed rivalries not experienced since the Coogs’ 20-year run as a Southwestern Conference powerhouse. The SWC was chock-full of Texas teams, but broke up in 1996. Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor landed in the newly established Big 12 Conference, while Houston ended up in the less prominent Conference USA, much to the consternation of fans who cried “Foul!” about the perceived slight. UH spent the next 17 years performing well but often struggling to find national relevance playing mid-level competition.
“It’s been a tough 20 or something years on our alumni and our fans in the city of Houston,” acknowledged Fertitta.
Now, the Coogs will once again compete against the likes of the Red Raiders and the Bears, and even the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University as soon as 2023, the earliest Houston could begin play in the league. Iowa State, University of Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State University and West Virginia University round out the rest of the oft-applauded Big 12.
“I think the Big 12 is going to shock people in all athletics, besides academically, how good it’s going to be in the future,” added Fertitta. “I can promise you this, we are going to do whatever it takes at the University of Houston to do our part to make everybody in our conference proud that y’all brought us in.”
So far, so good.
Lawrence Schovanec, chairman of the Big 12 Board of Directors and president of Texas Tech University, said UH’s inclusion sets the conference on a path to even greater success.
“University of Houston, with its rich tradition of athletic success and outstanding academic credentials, enhances the prestige and the competitiveness of the league on a national scale,” he said.
Full Court Press
The Cougars had a chance to join the Big 12 in 2016, one of a dozen schools that made formal presentations during what Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby called a “voyage of exploration.” Ultimately, the league decided to remain at 10 schools. The Longhorns and Sooners impending defection to the SEC caused a “renewed consideration” by the Big 12 to expand.
UH wasn’t going to let another golden opportunity pass without a full court press for inclusion. Early mornings. Late nights. And lots and lots of phone calls.
“Trust me when I say we fired every bullet,” said Chris Pezman, UH vice president for intercollegiate athletics. “This was not an opportunity we were going to allow to pass us by.”
When Pezman, the Houston Football letterman and former captain, returned to his alma mater in 2017 as the program’s 11th athletics director, his assignment from the top was clear: Elevate the program to an elite conference and fulfill the collective vision set forth by President Khator and Chairman Fertitta.
“This isn’t something that happens in a moment, it takes time, and it takes a constant concerted effort and focus,” said Pezman. “For our University, this is just a transformational moment, and it’s something will look back to over time and remember where we were when this happened.”
The University has invested almost $300 million in facility upgrades during the last eight years while attracting accomplished coaches such as Sampson and head football coach Dana Holgorsen. TDECU Stadium opened in 2014 and Fertitta’s $20 million gift in 2016 – the largest individual donation to date to UH Athletics – helped transform the UH basketball arena into a modern-day sports mecca.
For Fertitta, getting into the Big 12 was deeply personal.
“If this would have not happened on my watch this time. I would not be chairman of the Board of Regents today,” Fertitta said. “I would have been a failure, and I could not have dealt with it. Thank God that didn’t happen.”
Raising the Bar
UH currently fields 17 sport programs with seven on the men’s side (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf and track & field) and 10 on the women’s side (basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball).
During its athletics history, UH has recorded 158 conference championships with 17 NCAA team national championships and 68 NCAA individual national crowns. This will be the eighth conference in which Houston Athletics has been a member during its award-winning history.
“There isn’t any question that the Cougars raise the bar in every sport and in every way,” Bowlsby said. “They live and reside in arguably the best recruiting county in the United States for football.”
Harris County, the third most populous county in the country, is indeed a hotbed of primetime football talent. Too often, though, first-rate recruits hungry for the national spotlight pass on UH, according to Holgorsen, hired as Houston’s head coach in 2019 after spending two years earlier in his career as the Cougars’ offensive coordinator. As a member of the Big 12, where a great season could culminate with a trip to the College Football Playoff to contend for a national championship, Holgorsen said how they recruit student athletes won’t change, but who they recruit will.
“Student athletes who wouldn’t take our phone call will now take our phone call. It’s happened countless times where student athletes would say ‘Well, I love Houston, I love the University of Houston, but I want to play in a Power Five conference.’ It’s just facts,” he said.
Becoming a member of the Big 12 conference is one thing. Becoming a successful member is another. If the last decade of success at UH – both on the field and off – is any indication, then this is only the beginning of something special. “We have been on a path of transforming this great University of Houston into a greater University of Houston,” Khator said.
Heads held a little higher.
Cougar Red shining just a bit brighter.
The Big 12 is a Big Deal. But it’s a means to an end. What gives Khator the greatest gratification?
“To make alumni stand tall today and say with greater pride, ‘I am a graduate of the University of Houston.’”
UH Conferences, 1945 –2023
If you truly bleed Cougar Red, you can probably rattle off all the athletic conferences that the University of Houston has been a member of. But for the rest of us, a little help may be in order. Here’s your cheat sheet:
- Lone Star Conference (1945-1949)
Following WWII, UH joined this confederation founded in 1931, joining other Texas schools like Southwestern University, Sam Houston State and Howard Payne University for multi-sport competition, including golf and tennis.
- Gulf Coast Conference (1949-1950)
UH was a charter member of this short-lived, all-Texas association of schools, including North Texas State, Trinity University and Midwestern State University. By the time it disbanded in 1957, UH was long gone.
- Missouri Valley Conference (1951-1959)
First “big time” affiliation for UH. The Missouri Valley Conference is the country’s third-oldest collegiate athletic conference. During UH’s tenure, competing schools included Drake University, Oklahoma A&M, Wichita State and University of Tulsa.
- No Conference/Independent (1960-1971)
For more than a decade, the Cougars were flying solo.
- Southwest Conference (1971-1996)
Possibly UH’s best-known athletic affiliation among longtime Cougar supporters, this Texas-heavy conference sported spirited rivalries with UT, A&M, Rice, Southern Methodist University and Texas Tech.
- Conference USA (1997-2013)
Unfairly excluded (some say) from joining its Texas brethren in the newly formed Big 12, UH helped launch this geographically sprawling conference instead, joining the likes of Central Florida, Memphis, Texas Christian University and Marquette.
- Big East (2013-2013)
More a sports trivia question than a reality, UH officially agreed to membership in the reorganizing conference but before the Cougars played a single game, the proposed group dissolved.
- American Athletic Conference (2013-2023)
Drawing on those dissolved elements, UH joined Cincinnati, Tulsa, Temple and UCF to form this Division I conference whose football teams became a “Group of Five” participant, with an automatic bid to the New Year’s six bowl games.
- Big 12 (2023–?)
Along with other newcomers BYU, Central Florida and Cincinnati, UH will be joining Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, Kansas and West Virginia as soon as 2023. Go Coogs!