Houston regent chair pushes to get Big 12 invite for Cougars

Harry · October 15, 2015

Billionaire Tillman Fertitta, who chairs the University of Houston board of regents, is pushing for the school to join the Big 12.

He also said that the Cougars have at least a 50 percent chance of joining a major conference.

Fertitta made these comments while speaking to the Houston Chronicle editorial board this week.

He said on joining the Big 12: “things are happening out there behind the scenes…. It’s not a dead issue.”

The Big 12 has held firm at 10 teams since 2012. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said there are no plans for the conference to expand

But Fertitta has said he wants the Texas Legislature to push the Big 12 presidents into inviting Houston. The Cougars were members of the old Southwest Conference with Texas, Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech. But Houston didn’t make the cut for the Big 12 when it started in 1996.

Houston currently is a hot football team under new coach Tom Herman. The Cougars are ranked in the top 25 for the first time in four years.

“We belong playing Texas and TCU and Baylor,” Fertitta told the Chronicle’s editorial board. “That’s who we belong playing.”

read more: http://collegesports.blog.statesman.com/2015/10/14/houston-regent-chair-pushes-to-get-big-12-invite-for-cougars/

UNT90 · October 15, 2015

Meanwhile at UNT, the BOR cares so little about athletics they will leave a 15 year failure in place to destroy this program.

Apogee will be the prettiest stadium in FCS in 5 years at this rate.

Matt from A700 · October 15, 2015

Would be intriguing but I don't see the Big 12 adding Houston unless there's another school involved. Who would #12 be? BYU?

greenit · October 15, 2015

Houston will get invited only after Texas bolts imo.

No Housta you do not belong playing Texas, Baylor, TCU. If you did, you would be playing them already.

Billionaires, wish we had a few. @flyonthewall, what the hell are you waiting on?

Cougar King · October 15, 2015

Would be intriguing but I don't see the Big 12 adding Houston unless there's another school involved. Who would #12 be? BYU?

Cincinnati is about as close to a lock as a G5 can get. Memphis is also a candidate

VideoEagle · October 15, 2015

I wonder how much clout UH has in the legislature? When the Big XII was formed, Baylor and Tech's secret weapon with the Lt. Governor who went to both of those schools. What committee chairs does UH have?

H-towngreen · October 15, 2015

Most important aspect, the Houston market is already covered by the Big 12. So what's the incentive to ask them to join???

risinggreen · October 15, 2015

Houston will get invited only after Texas bolts imo.
No Housta you do not belong playing Texas, Baylor, TCU. If you did, you would be playing them already.
Billionaires, wish we had a few. @flyonthewall, what the hell are you waiting on?

My thoughts also. Texas bolting was probably only slightly delayed by their win last Saturday. If they only win 4 this year I bet the off season Pac 12 talk gets heavy.

Hunter Green · October 15, 2015

Why would it help Texas by joining the Pac 12?

risinggreen · October 15, 2015

Why would it help Texas by joining the Pac 12?

Probably because of easier athletic competition for the most part, along with a general perception of superior academics at the California schools. Most Pac12 football programs, other than Oregon's recent run, have been paper tigers for decades now.

Of course Stanford and USC tend to pop up every once in a while when they have an elite quarterback. There's probably more money potential out there too. They also lost a major anchor in Texas when the Aggies moved away

If they don't find quick success from Strong, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they decide to shake things up fairly soon just for the sake of change.

UNTexas · October 15, 2015

Cincinnati is about as close to a lock as a G5 can get. Memphis is also a candidate

I think BYU would be a better fit then these guys. They have street cred, resume, and history. Not to mention, they are already considered P5 by conferences.

Edited October 15, 2015 by UNTexas

Hunter Green · October 15, 2015

I admire Houston's desire for the "big time." I wish UNT felt this way.

GO MEAN GREEN!

meangreendork · October 15, 2015

Meanwhile, I wonder why Kansas is still allowed in the Big12...

Army of Dad · October 15, 2015

Basketball.

untjim1995 · October 15, 2015

UH has one P5 conference to join--and its remote, at best--the Pac-12. The Pac-12 needs a Texas presence, but won't take anyone but UT for academic reasons (Tech) or social reasons (Baylor). UH is now Tier 1 academically, IIRC, and would give the Pac-12 the chance to get all of the state's subscribers for their Pac-12 network, without waiting for the Big XII's GOR to expire in 2025. It wouldn't be that inconceivable to see the Pac-12 invite UH and another non-P5 team that brings a good sized western market for cable subscribers, like UNLV. That would give them TV sets in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Texas, all before 2025.

But I don't think the Pac-12 wants to expand anytime soon. The Big XII would be even more DOA if they added UH to their conference. No added TV market or added recruiting benefit. If the Big XII expands, which I now think it won't--it would add Cincinnati to the east and BYU. But the split of the TV money to lower the pie for the other ten Big XII schools is an ender.

I do feel for UH--they have the size, academic prestige, and TV market to help conferences, but the Big XII future implosion will give the other Power Conferences better recognized programs to pull their way in the next shuffle. I still believe that UH will join Baylor, TCU, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa, and others in a new Big XII conference, but it won't be a power league. It will look like the American Athletic Conference after the Big East split for hoops. And it will be a really good league for G5s: TCU, SMU, Baylor, UH, Tulsa, Tulane, Memphis, Cincy, K-state, and Iowa State. I could see them even adding UTSA and UTEP, as well. CUSA would just replace those two, if that happened with NMSU and Texas State.

NTXCoog · October 15, 2015

Most important aspect, the Houston market is already covered by the Big 12. So what's the incentive to ask them to join???

The Big 12 is quickly losing the Houston market to the SEC. There have been polls showing the Big 12 is no longer the dominant conference there. You can debate whether Houston moves the needle on that, but it is not a given that the Big 12 owns that market

Stix · October 15, 2015

Don't know if everyone knows who Fertitta is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilman_J._Fertitta

The wiki article only mentions the Golden Nugget in passing, but he undoubtedly thinks of himself as a high-roller. He opened a Golden Nugget in Lake Charles in the last year. I think he wants to try to outdo, or at least match, another Houston bigwig, Drayton McLane, whose name is on Baylor's stadium. But he has a long way to go if that's his goal, as he doesn't have his name on UH's status - a credit union does. And, he never owned the Astros. So, good luck to him.