Culture Change

Football
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My apologies, up front, if there is another thread that discussed this issue. I seem to recall having seen it in the past?

Also, up front, my additional apologies to anyone I have offended, by my “outsider’s perspective”, as a Houston Cougar Fan.

We all come here, to discuss the team we support, from different places. While I’m not a UH Alum, and no longer live in Texas, and have not been a “lifelong” Cougar Fan, they are still my #1 team. Not my Alma Mater (Auburn University). Not Tennessee, where several of my Sons graduated and I taught Army ROTC. Not Army (despite being a 30 year Army Vet). Not LSU (my wife’s favorite team (because she’s from Louisiana).

The Coogs are “my team”. And it’s because Willie Fritz is a guy I’ve known and supported for decades. All I can say is, I believe it’s a darn good reason to be a Coog Fan.

That said, I respect the lifelong Coog Fans on this MB, and have no intention to try and change the way you support your team, but I do believe, down to my core, that the Houston Cougars are in the most capable hands they’ve seen in a long time, perhaps EVER. Why? Because they are getting a “lifelong winner” in my friend Willie Fritz. And they are getting him at his very best!

I believe he will retire as the Head Football Coach at Houston, and in time. Will lead them to the first “non-blueblood” National Championship and in the modern era of college football.

I say this because… despite the disappointments of the past at UH, the potential is there. And I’ve never seen him fail to maximize a team’s potential….because he has a track record of changing the CULTURE everywhere he’s been and achieved the results by being a “player’s coach”, and putting in the work he’s paid to do.

Willie is ALL IN. I’m ALL IN (which in reality doesn’t amount to a hill of beans). But for the potential to come to fruition, the players, the fans (as a whole), and the Houston Community need to be ALL IN. That’s the CULTURE change necessary to shock the college football world.

IMO, Houston may never get a better chance than they have now. Again, my apologies for anything I’ve said previously on this MB that run contradictory to what I’ve said here, today, on this MB.

Go Coogs !

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UH fans aren’t quick to jump on the bandwagon, that’s for sure. And while I agree that WF has really turned things around, I don’t think he’s caught the attention of the general public or UH’s fence-sitters. The wins will eventually get there, but the kind of energy that it takes to make a huge step change this quickly isn’t there yet. UH fans have been through some things over the years, and that takes a toll.

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While the turnaround is happening faster than scheduled, in my opinion, we need to be patient with Fritz.

We are having a great season. We have a shot at a nice bowl game (maybe even the CCG if luck is on our side), and we have potentially the best recruiting class in UH history coming in next year.

I’m all in on Fritz. He will build UH into a big time program.

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There are always excuses, but a #22 ranked 7-1 team playing a B12 opponent??
The trickle down effect is huge, season tickets sales will plumet, advertisers will decrease, eventually NIL will decrease, top players will decrease, then students will decrease, and just like that, we are a basketball school.

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I’m not making excuses. I’m just describing the situation.

The football improvement is obvious, but to turn around a fan base and draw in new ones, it takes more than that. We’ll get there in time, as long as the football part of it stays on track. The only way to speed up that process is to create some real buzz around the program that just isn’t there yet.

Tom Herman managed to do this, partly because he was a carnival barker, and partly because that team had some real star power and an offense that made every game exciting. WF isn’t going to be like that, and this team doesn’t play like that, so it’s just going to take longer to get people re-engaged.

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I’ve seen it happen 4 times already that the coach gets to a hot start in their 2nd season at UH and then fizzle out or fall apart.

Sumlin: In 2009 beat Oklahoma State and Tech to end up ranked and then lose to UTEP the following week but did recover to make the conference championship game but lost.

Levine: In 2013 started off 5-0 and on the cusp of getting ranked until we lost by 1 to BYU at home and lost a few more games in November.

Herman: In 2016 got us to #6 until the Navy game and then a few weeks later to SMU.

Applewhite: In 2018 started off 7-1 and got us ranked and then lost 3 games in November, then having the humiliating 70-14 loss to Army in the bowl game.

Holgorsen: In 2020 didn’t play until like late September and we still had a losing season.

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Agreed

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Agreed.

And some would say that it looks the same as some of the turnarounds of the past. The difference this time, is in that Willie has said, over and over again, he is building a program. Every move he makes is made giving the utmost effort to ensure the changes are deep and lasting.

  • Stellar HS Recruiting
  • Player Development
  • Focus on every aspect the program
  • Genuine Relationships
  • Accountability
  • Caring about his Players

In short, Legacy building. The changes Willie makes last. The programs he’s left behind on his climb from Juco, to Division II, to FCS, to FBS, have ALL been better off for his having been there. Only time will tell, but I will say again… Willie is “different” than those other guys.

The other guys, for the most part, all left a mess. Willie won’t…

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Just so all will know. In days of yore UH had perfectly fine teams that played before 15,000 fans in The Astrodome.

The Astrodome had 52,000 seats. We sold 15,000 of them.

Attendance issues ain’t new, and never have been permanently solved by UH. Never.

Relax.

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Different time, we were in SWC and playing in the 8th Wonder of the World. Easy for Yeoman to recruit top players and play in Cotton every year. Attendance wows caught up to us and were banished to CUSA.

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Yeah, Houston being the 4th largest city in the U.S. helps recruiting, for sure. Especially being in the Great State of Texas.

But being such a large city presents an equal set of challenges to attendance that may prevent it from ever having the kind of game day atmosphere like you get in a “college town” like Auburn, Alabama; where they’ve sold out games, almost forever, even when they have disappointing coaches like Brian Harsin and Hugh Freeze.

The good news is, you can change culture without having to use the measuring stick of “sold out” stadiums.

Sellouts have far less impact on winning than winning has on selling out the stadium, IMO.

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Thanks for the good word, Dude. Glad to have you on board.

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I guess what I’m saying is, if the next home game isn’t sold out, it doesn’t mean the culture isn’t “changing”.

And by changing, I can only assume we all mean “improving”.

Which begs the questions….

What are the measuring sticks, by which we determine improvement?

What is the level they need to be at to say “we’re there”?

…and is “culture change” the only thing we’re after?

Obviously, WINNING is the ultimate measuring stick, so let’s discuss other things besides just that…

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Time will tell, I just don’t want to get my hopes up lol.

The only thing that separates Fritz from the rest was that he is a lot older than the ones on the list and has a run based offense.

We are always used to a high flying offense under all of those previous coaches mentioned and lighting up the scoreboard.

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I believe expecting the Head Football Coach to be the sole person responsible for culture change is a recipe for disaster.

The Athletic Director may be even more responsible than anyone. I know this has been discussed in other threads, but perhaps we should dive an “little deeper” into reasonable expectations for HIM?

The AD isn’t just there to hire and fire people. The last time I checked, he gets paid pretty well, for something?

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Fair enough. It’s always better to be surprised than disappointed…

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Fixed it for You.

:slight_smile:

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It’s definitely not his sole responsibility, and isn’t even one his primary jobs, but it is part of the equation, and coaches who make that effort are generally more successful at getting crowds more quickly. Heck, our basketball coach still goes out to recruit students to games and make personal connections with them.

The AD can’t generate that same level of excitement and engagement, but he does need to lead the charge on figuring out how to make that happen.

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Age (in Willie’s case) is a +

And a good rushing attack, and the ability to stop the run, are a MUST for a winning program.

So, I don’t think the things you mention are a “negative”.

But I do slightly disagree with your take on his offense being “run based”. I believe it’s a more balanced attack…

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I also believe, for the most part, the best programs in college football, both right now, and historically, can kill you with the pass or the run…

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