Who really owns the Houston market

Cougar Basketball
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We constantly hear the narrative that UT, TAMU, TT, even LSU are more important…more supported…more marketable in the Houston market than the University of Houston Cougars.

I want you guys to look at the evidence in front of us right now to prove that is FALSE.

Right now, UH is in the Final Four and local businesses, local media, and fans (both alums/ students and casual) are rallying behind our Coogs. The same can be said about our 2015-2016 football run. I remember having Go UH functions at my work despite most of the employees not being Coogs. My sister said her office aired the entire UH/FSU game during work hours. And we all know the reaction from the city over the OU/ UH game

Now let’s compare:

Texas Tech.
They DID make it to the last NCAA championship game. Did Houston go bonkers over the Red Raiders? Because they 100% believe they have more of a market share in Houston than UH. False!

Texas
They played in a NY6 bowl game more recently than UH. Did the Houston market go crazy over that?
They also stole our spot in recreating the anniversary of the Game of the Century vs UCLA in Reliant. That proved to be an colossal failure in both attendance, exposure, and profit.
I’m sure someone here can produce the viewership numbers in Houston for the Longhorn Network.

Texas A&M
Yes, they are probably the closest P5 competitor from a distance standpoint but does the City of Houston rally behind the Aggies the same way they do around the Coogs…the businesses…the casual fan…the local media…our politicians, etc. Did we light up City Hall maroon because the Aggies were knocking on that playoff door last season? NO!!!

LSU
They have fans here but the city of Houston. does NOT rally behind them in the same way. And they’ve won a recent Championship in the most popular sport!

Time and time again…we’ve proven there is endless potential in the outpouring of support, interest, and $$ WHEN the Coogs are good. The ceiling is higher than anything any of those other schools can even dream of…let that sink in. A good UH season OWNS the 4th largest city/ 5th largest market in the United States in a way those other schools never can. Not even in their dreams. I never see us lighting up Houston landmarks burnt orange…NEVER!

Why a P5 can’t see that is still beyond me…the evidence consistently re-appears. Imagine if we had consistency and $$ to.build a real Monster!!

I’m talking to you ACC, SEC, B1G 10, & PAC!

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University of Houston represents Houstonians!

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How it plays out when all the dust settles. Last round of TE-alignment.

Big 12: Memphis and Cincy
ACC: UCF and ND
PAC 12: Houston and SMU

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The PAC will not take SMU.

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The PAC will not take SMU. ND will stay Independent as long as CBS will pay them. AAC will not add a third Florida team. Academics matter to the P5 and Memphis just doesn’t have the academics.

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I really don’t care about which conference we get in . I just want the $40 million each P5 member receives so we can level the playing field

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So. Florida won’t have 3 Florida schools. But we keep complaining because the Big 12 won’t take us and make it 5 Texas schools in the Big 12?

ACC football is hurting. They’ll take UCF.

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I can see the ACC adding UH + UC.

IF ND wants to join a conference…I see it being the B1G 10.

It all depends what UT, & OU want to do. If they want to break up the Big 12, it could get very Interesting.

If not, look for the P5s to look to raid the AAC for their top programs (UC, UH, UCF, UM).

I wonder if the PAC will seriously recruit TT in a UH + TT package. A preemptive strike hoping that would lead to a breakup of the Big 12. UT, OU, & KU move on and the PAC adds the remaining pieces they want but they secure two Texas public universities first. Baylor and TCU would be screwed in that scenario.

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ND is already in a conference. They play in the ACC in basketball. It’s ACC or nothing.

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The City of Houston should realize the financial advantages of having the University of Houston in a major conference and being able to compete on even footing with other programs around the country. Our city leaders and politicians should mandate that UH be considered for a major conference. Anything else should be unacceptable. We let state leaders punk us in the early 90s and now is the time to rectify. I hope Renu is on top of it!

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This basketball run has meant millions for the University and the city at a time when the sports world is pretty quiet. College Basketball has center stage for a month.

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UH1927, I think your prediction is the most likely and the one I’m hoping becomes a reality. I think UH is a great fit in the ACC. Perhaps another possibility is UT going to the B10 or PAC12, OU heading to the SEC, and KU to the B10, which significantly weakens the B12. As a result, the B12 scrambles to add UH, Memphis, UCF, and perhaps one other member (SMU?). IMHO, not the ideal P5 landing spot for UH.

Cincy has the strongest hand in the AAC, and I see them joining the ACC at some point.

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Living up here in B1G country, the ND ship has sailed. The B1G offered in the last 20 years and was rejected. They won’t be offered a third time. That and ND is a member of the ACC for all sports except football.

What I do wonder is whether Beard leaving for Austin is the straw that broke the camel’s back for TT and its loyalty to UT. If the PAC came calling for UH and TT, that would give the conference a nice foothold in both the Houston and DFW markets. That would add value to the PAC, which is what any conference looking to expand is seeking. I don’t see the PAC ever taking SMU, not just because of the religious affiliation, but because of their checkered past in athletics.

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Houston only supports Houston teams when they’re winning

That goes for pro and college sports

We don’t have the traditions at A&M where you can go 3-11 and still sellout football stadiums

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Good points, but when conferences are spread out over thousands of miles, selling out football stadiums doesn’t carry the weight it used to in the past. Moving forward, the coin of the realm is TV sets. Even if people might not be going to TDECU to watch UH play UCLA or USC, they would be watching on TV.

Given the recent troubles of the Houston sports franchises and our peaking in MBB, this is our best time to capitalize on whatever we can.

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But when we have good seasons (and hopefully the become more frequent), the City of Houston supports the Coogs and spends money in ways they will never do for UT, TAMU, TT, or LSU.

Entrance into a P5 conference could help streamline our peaks and valkeys, especially if we had a football schedule full of P5 programs…think a game vs Clemson would sell out?

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No SMU

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100% agree. I would support UH in the big 12 but we would need one more school. 11 will not work. Who would you try to incentivize to bring in? Therein lies the problem. Would we want another Texas school? If not, where do you look assuming the SEC is off limits?

The other option is a total and complete change in the entire system (won’t happen in my lifetime) where by you create 4 megaconferences with 20 schools in each and then divide that into 2 divisions of 10, in football play all 9 in your division and 3 from the other div, and that is your season. In ball play all teams in your conference plus 11 outside games mostly from the smaller schools that need the money to feed their institution which is important. Same in baseball.

Personally, I would be in favor of BYU joining the big 12 (no different that WVA) so that would be my 12 (current 10 plus UH/BYU). Big 12 needs the Houston market.

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This is why i don’t root for other Texas teams especially the B12. Instead of adding UH to get some P5 money and help fellow Texans, they added WV. Eff them.

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I heard Aresco on ESPNU Radio yesterday. It was a good interview and he touched on a lot of topics.

But he was asked specifically about Houston and the millions we have spent on facilities and with our success in basketball and we are located in the 4th largest city, what happens if we get taken by a P5.

He said basically if Houston got taken by a P5 and our TV revenue increased to 35-50 million he would hold a party for us. As he sees his job it is to make member schools P5 attractive or to make the conference as a whole P5 worthy.

It was a good interview.