Honest Question

Cougar Basketball
1

Would you prefer the University of Houston to be a year in and year out top 10 basketball program.

OR

Would you prefer the University of Houston be a top 25 football program.

A basketball power or a solid/good Football program.

I know the answer is both, but you can only choose 1.

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2

Top 10 basketball power. More games to watch and enjoy.

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3

I think it’s more exciting when the basketball team is good. I know it brings in less money and seats less fans. I think basketball attracts more fringe and bandwagon fans than football does. Plus, basketball has a clear path to the national championship. Football does not.

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4

But your profit margins are much better. I’d be willing to bet financially its a toss-up, unless you are talking long-term BIG10/SEC tv revenues.

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5

I think if the purpose is to sell the University, being a basketball power (which we are capable of) has a greater reach.

I don’t think we can get Football to a consistent top ten level. But basketball I think we can.

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6

Hoops. Less P5G5 bishbish.

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7

Of course this is the Basketball section but I have always preferred Football. This is Texas after all.

I only started watching basketball during Phi Slamma Jamma

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8

Why did you choose Top 25? Why not a choice of Top 20 or Top 10 in football?

If a perennial Top 20 with the occasional Top 10 ranking in football, then I would choose football.

Also it doesn’t mean that if you have a good to great football program that you can’t have an equal to or greater BB program.

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9

Both.

Like it used to be.

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10

I mean they actually have a chance to win the entire thing in Basketball the Football system is rigged same teams every year

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11

It’s not a perfect analogy but the choice is basically would you rather be Boise football or Gonzaga basketball (though our conference is obviously better than Gonzaga’s).

I’d go with hoops easily. That means you are playing into the second weekend of the tourney most years and have a legit shot to win it. Also I just like basketball a lot better and a packed Fertitta Center to me is a lot more fun than a big game at TDECU.

If you are Boise football it means every few years you get a NY6 bowl. It’s just not the same.

That said, choosing football would likely be better financially for the athletic department and if you are still clinging to hope of a P5 invite (I’m not), then football gives the better chance for that invite to come.

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12

If it’s top vs top 10, I’d choose football. Easy call.

In the case above, I’d probably take top 10 basketball and just accept never being P5.

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13

In 1967 UH reached the championship game of the baseball College World Series in Omaha, won the 10th of its 16 NCAA golf championships, won at No. 3 Michigan State 37-7 in football after beating Florida State 33-13 the week before, and in basketball reached the Final Four, beating North Carolina 84-62 in the third-place game.
We once had it all and can do so again.

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Once, for two years, in a wildly different college sports landscape. If you expect that to happen again, you’re probably in for a bad time.

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15

I think that’s why 51’s hypo is pretty good. Having a top 10 football team year in and year out in our conference really does not seem feasible, or even feasible for a lot of the P5 schools. Perennial top 25 with an occasional top 10 finish is probably the absolute best case for us. Top 10 hoops year in and year out would be hard in our conference (or really for just about any school outside of Duke, Kentucky, etc.) but it is achievable. I mentioned Gonzaga. SDSU was close to that level for a stretch. Villanova is a big time hoops school that recruits well, but it’s not that far from the AAC to the Big East. Also, Virginia has become a perennial top 10 program and even though they are in the top hoops conference, they recruit at a level that’s really not much higher than where we are getting close to.

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I look forward to the day, coming soon, in which UH is a Top 10 and national title contender in track, a Top 20 and CWS contender in baseball, a Top 15 and perennial Sweet 16 or above team in men’s basketball ball, and a perennial Top 20 team in football.

It WILL happen!

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17

Hey now, let’s not forget we’re a university. Our faculty need to score us a couple Nobels, some Macarthurs, and a Peabody. And a couple Pulitzers wouldn’t hurt.

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18

easy, bball…we at least have a realistic shot at a national championship

19

That was a good year. Thanks for the positive feedback.

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20

Under the current conference conditions basketball, because they can win national championships

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