For the record, UH’s share of the Texas University Fund (TUF) is $1.35B. Proposition 5, which created the TUF, became effective January 1, 2024.
Is it as much as Texas and Texas A&M get from the Permanent University Fund
(PUF)? No. Is it more than UH had in 2023? You better believe it. UH and other state universities not named Texas and Texas A&M have been trying to access PUF money for decades and failed each time. Rather than complain that Texas and Texas A&M are keeping PUF for themselves, which they are, let’s celebrate the current leadership that found a creative way to give other state universities money to enhance their research.
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The focus of the other university systems should be to grow the TUF disbursements and ultimately allow for those funds to be used for infrastructure - as is the case with the UT and A&M systems.
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It’s a bone with not much meat on it to be honest. The state is suppose to
add annually $100M to the TUF. That’s only $100,000. If it was $100MM, yeah it
would help over a couple of decades. You could spin up AAU status for UH, TT, and other schools in short order if we had anything near PUF funding. Hey, I’m
grateful for the bone, but let’s not be fooled into thinking it’s the be all end all.
Edit - I now think the TUF is slated to get an additional $274 million for the 2026-27 biennial. This funding comes from interest earned on the $24 billion state rainy day fund. So in about 8 years the TUF could have another billion in it; of course new schools will be coming to the feed trough as well.
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Need to foia actual athletic department expenses so we can see how departments really manage money
I bet it’s some crazy spending on meals, scouting services, etc
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How about an innovative approach to the PUF. Give UH and Tech the PUF money for a few/5 yrs to get some things done then swing it back to them. A&M and UT have enough for a while or rotate it every 5 yrs to just UT and A&M then back to Tech and Uh for 5 yrs on a rotating basis. This would keep all happy . How can UT and A&M really have a sound argument against it. It could be the state flagship fairness act to create 4 flagships / well funded school.
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Cmon man, they would say their programs would suffer. That “elevating” UH and tech at the expense of the other two is un-American.
I guess i appreciate the “tuf” scraps but i think we are sharing that with all other state schools? Even those ALREADY in the ut and texas S&M sysytem??? 
No. Currently only four schools share the TUF: UH, Tech, Texas State, and UNT.
UH’s share at $1.3 billion is the largest, with Tech nearly equal, and the other two well behind.
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Nice, thank you. I remember a long time ago they did something similar but the ut system schools got their hands in our and (to a lesser extent) tech’s efforts.
By giving a few pennies (in comparison to the PUF) to these four schools it is again telling them:
Don’t get me wrong money is money but it is unequivocally their way of telling the “other” Texas public universities to eff off and shut the ef up.
We are in 2026 for crying out loud. This PUF scam has been going on for way too long. I am not a politician but this would be clearly part of my vision and that includes both sides.
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It’s wrong and they need to share it. I think they pay to influence the media to make us appear less than them. That’s why our games are on 950 instead of 790.
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It ought to be illegal. When the PUF was created it was meant to have a public university in brand new Texas, making sure higher public education would be financially supported. They had no idea that other Texas public universities would be created. If they knew they would have spread the money around to…make sure Texas public university would be financially supported.
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That’s exactly right but no one cares because everyone thinks AM and UT are just above everyone. That’s why when we beat them we ended up on probation or sent to a crap conference. Then never play us again.
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True, times have changed and the state is 30 million now, it’s time to have 4 flagships. We’re losing kids to other states if they can’t get into A&M and UT. Tech, UH , A&M and UT are all public schools and should be funded equally. We’re not Mississippi and poor and they even fund 2 with barely 3 or so million population.
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The only way significant progress can be made on the academic front is for the TUF disbursements to grow significantly. As it stands today those funds are restricted to the pursuit of research dollars and cannot be used for any campus construction. While research funding should be the top priority, schools like UH could benefit tremendously by being allowed to build world class facilities on par with some of the county’s best publics. Because the UT and A&M systems can use the PUF for buildings, their donors are freer to support pet projects that include massive sports infrastructures.
TUF schools should press for equity in higher ed funding and never let up. The people of Texas deserve better.
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uta and atm were against the TUF…and you think politicians that are bankrolled by these same universities (against expanding the PUFP) will give us more more money?
That you are correct on:
“TUF schools should press for equity in higher ed funding and never let up. The people of Texas deserve better.”
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Without withering political pressure, the TUF would never have been created. The reasonable and rational arguments are on the side of the TUF schools who must keep the pressure on the politicians to do the right thing.
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You are correct. It’s same with TUF now…
According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the following universities are approaching Texas University Fund (TUF) eligibility benchmarks:
- Entry to the TUF: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-Corpus Christi) has met the minimum federal and private research expenditure requirements. However, it must still increase its research doctoral degrees awarded to reach the final statutory threshold. [1, 2]
- TUF Level 1 Base Funding: The University of North Texas (UNT) is approaching the higher thresholds required to advance to TUF Level 1 funding from PEER. UNT may become eligible in FY 2027, depending on whether its 2024 and 2025 research expenditure data hit the state’s targets. [[1](https://reportcenter.highered.texas.gov/correspondence/commissioner-correspondence/fiscal-year-2026-texas-university-fund-
The West Texas oil thing must really gall the Tech people.
Are you writing that ut system schools can qualify for the TUF? If this is true it will only reinforce what many have been saying. The TUF is a eff off to schools that want their fair share of the PUF.
I think UT and A&M can’t qualify for anything else like the tuf bc they have the PUF.