There may be a few high profile people at the top but make no mistake about it. The influence is us. Its our city, its our fortune 500 companies in this city, its our alumni base, its our students and staff. Its our recognition outside the state and outside the country. UH was always top tier, we just needed to get our ducks in a row. We are a snowball that turned into an avalanche. We go as the city goes. Right now we are reaping the benefits that come with a city that has grown with vigor. Its also great to see our counterparts in Orlando joining us. We have a lot in common.
1 Like
No doubt about it those are the main metrics they looked at, but it also helps if you have support from big-time people within the city and the state. They all played a major part. Without Dr. Khator I doubt UH would have ever been able to raise its profile from the lows that it fell into in the 90’s and early 2000’s. She had the will and vision to get the UH bigwigs, student body, and fans to believe that we can actually do this!
I once read an article about the time when Dave Maggard decided to make a visit to the UH campus when he heard the school was in the process of looking for a new AD. The thing that struck me the most about what he said was how extremely shocked he was at just how low UH had become! He remembered the UH that was regularly being a part of the top 25 programs in the country and beating the likes of Miami and Florida State on a regular basis and when he came to visit UH he described how disheartened and shocked he felt when he saw just how bad it was the decline of UH have become, especially in athletics. He said he knew then he wanted to help UH get back to its once gloried self and with the help of Dr. Khator and Tilman (Who shared his sentiments) we are able to do that.
Without all of these people (Dr Khator, Maggard, Tilman, Nantz, etc) I doubt UH would ever be able to get to the point where UH would even be discussed to join any Power5 conference! In fact, those Bonghorn and Ag distractors would laugh at us for entertaining such a thought!
3 Likes
Yeah, I think somebody sold us to them… but they had to be given something to sell.
Maggard did some hard bargaining on behalf of UH which was so necessary at the time. However, moving forward he didn’t have the same vision on what we could become… Follow that with scrapping the EZ facility with the dreams of a brand new stadium. Enter Mack Rhodes. For his inexperience and short comings I believe he handled the stadium design and fundraising brilliantly. I still remember being at a function when it was mentioned we were going to look into raising funds for a brand new stadium and hearing the chuckles from the audience. People didn’t think it was possible.
Damn I think this completes the last major hurdle for RK with the law and medical schools under construction and now jumping to a major conference that is a perfect fit for our needs.
I guess we can still dream of PUFF. 
Not dream, next goal.
2 Likes
the goal is the be top 50 in 5 years. If we can do this, then the next phase is AAU. With AAU and a strong sports program, I think the BIG 10 is very much a possibility.
1 Like
Man, Dr Bott definitely had school spirit and he was one of the pioneers that got people to wear Red on Fridays and everyday. The guy could also teach. I was sad when he left because i think the school could’ve benefited from giving him tenure but i don’t make those decisions and it seems he was excited about his new endeavor.
Her next goal for UH is top 50 university and then AAU.
1 Like