It’s up to the University to hustle up NIL, not fans. Season tickets and Cougar Pride is my limit.
I love the University of Houston but it is not at the very top of my priority list. God, family and country…
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I think the play is to hire a strong AD with a ‘plug in place’ HC spot on a reasonable University friendly contract.
Then put the real money into buying a team with depth via the NIL. Find a economical hungry ambitious coach to coach this superior NIL bought squad.
Instead, we’ve been doing the opposite- weak ADs with huge contracts for the HC with ridiculous buyouts and no money left for NIL.
We need out of the box thinking yet continue to be a dog chasing our tail.
Unfortunately, UH will struggle in FB in today’s NIL era. Being left out of a power conference for decades put us far behind most of our former SWC foes.
So now the only way to build a winning program at UH (without competitive NIL funding) is to build thru HS recruiting and retention, and that’s a tough order in today’s professional collegiate sports. That is unless someone or some group of folks bequeaths UH ~$20 million/year for athletics for the forseeable future.
I may be out of touch with NIL, but I don’t think we need THAT much money to field a competitive team. And let’s be honest. There are only 20 to 25 teams in the nation that can actually afford to put out multi-million dollar rosters and out of those teams, 5 or 6 of those teams actually have a chance to win the natty. The rest of us, that includes teams in the “Power 2”, have to penny pinch and get creative.
I believe the key for us is to simply prioritize NIL funds to 3 areas:
- Offensive Line
- Defensive Line
- QB
We don’t need to pour money into an ENTIRE roster.
That’s it. Everyone on the team should get some money, no doubt. But those 3 key areas need to get the most.
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Can NIL be like a Go-Fund-Me?
I know different programs have different strategies with NIL. I like the idea of having a team NIL, so that everyone gets a piece of the action. It sends a message that all players on the team are valuable. This is what Texas Tech does. I also like the idea of having position group NILs, especially the OL and DL, where it all starts. UT has an OL NIL. Finally, I think individual players ought to have the own NIL and let their marketability dictate how much they make.
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^^^ this is it. Not in most of our fans DNA yet they wanted a seat at the big boy table.
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I think the majority of P4 is multi-million NIL per year. Texas Tech FB is 25k per player including walk one before adding player specific deals. I think hitting HS recruiting and player development hard is the right approach to counter NIL disadvantages but we will be constantly poached by other P4s if we don’t improve FB NIL.
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For the millionth time, NIL does NOT create more talented football players by automatically turning them into 5 stars…it just pays them
You still have to build a team that includes players that add to your synergy and chemistry.
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Florida St. has an aggressive NIL program and where has it gotten them this year?
In fact, it was so aggressive, it violated NCAA rules and there was a negotiated resolution between FSU and the NCAA in January 2024.
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Yes, companies have been hiring and paying people for years.
They aren’t all successful.
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Dana’s recruiting was always in bottom half to bottom third Nationally.
We see that on the field.
Nowhere to go but up as to talent. The OL, alone, shows that. Guessing that our backups are even worse.
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I hope we can recruit the heck out of the OL. I’m a big trenches guy. I’m a firm believer that if you can field a strong OL and DL, you can get really far with every other position being mediocre. Make the upgrades at those other positions after and then we’re looking scary.
With Carlisle next year and Henderson the year after, QB shouldn’t be a concern anymore (outside of holding those commits). Pay the best 2025 OL recruits and we’ll be back among the best in the conference again. They’ll have a year under their belts in 2026 when Henderson gets here and possibly starts as a true freshman.
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Can’t help that they whiffed on a transfer starting QB in DJU.
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In all fairness most of Danas recruits are gone
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I personally don’t think Henderson will be ready to start at qb as a freshman. And I think Carlisle needs an adjustment year.
Henderson plays against awful competition.
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Well I hope he’s fine with that. I would rather have the continuity as well, but who knows what Henderson has been promised. As a 5⭐, early playing time is a consideration with their commitments.
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Henderson may not be ready but dude aint riding the bench with his talents!!!
Who knows how good he will be in 2 years.
5 stars dont commit every day at UH.
If he has been promised a starting QB spot I hardly believe Carlisle would have wanted to come.
I just don’t think Fritz is that kind of oerson
I doubt Coach Fritz promised Henderson to start. Most likely, Fritz told Henderson UH would consider him a QB candidate who would compete for the QB job.
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