UH Joins Big East!

The long and agonizing wait for AQ conference status is over at Cullen Blvd. Starting on July 1, 2013 the University of Houston will say goodbye to their charter membership in C-USA that they've had since the breakup of the SWC in 1996 and will join the Big East conference in all sports 

Coming to the Big East with them will be fellow C-USA schools SMU and Central Florida and football only members Boise State and San Diego State.  

"Over the last 32 years, the Big East Conference has constantly evolved along with the landscape of college athletics," said Big East Commissioner John Marinatto. "The inclusion of these five great Universities, which bring a unique blend of premier academics, top markets, strong athletics brands and outstanding competitive quality, marks the beginning of a new chapter in that evolution. We are proud to welcome these schools to the Big East family.

"Much like the conference as a whole, the Big East name -- though derived 32 years ago based on the geography of our founding members -- has evolved into a highly respected brand that transcends borders, boundaries or regions. It's national. Our membership makeup is now reflective of that."

UH President and Chancellor Renu Khator had this to say about the Cougars joining the Big East.

“I am honored and very pleased to accept the invitation to be a member of the Big East family,” Khator said. “Our vision at the University of Houston is to be a nationally competitive university in every field: research, student success and athletics. This affiliation gives us an opportunity to play in a nationally competitive environment and to show our talents on a national stage.

“This is a game-changer for us, and I know everybody here is very excited.”

We sure are President Khator.  The addition of UH, SMU,.Central Florida, Boise State and San Diego State brings the number of Big East football playing schools to 10 members as it seeks to add the two additional schools the conference needs in order to host a Big East championship game.

The rumblings about the Big East losing their AQ status when the current BCS contract expires at the end of that season are the least of our worries right now since we have other institutions trying to hire Kevin Sumlin away from us. 

Joining the Big East may help us retain his services.

The AQ conference status will make it easier to continue the progress toward upgrading Hofheinz Pavilion and constructing the new football stadium as part of UH president and chancellor Renu Khator's push for UH to have Tier One status in athletics to go hand in hand with the Tier One academic status.

We UH alums along with the school administration and current students are ecstatic about the news that we're finally members of an AQ conference again starting in 2013 and look forward to seeing the Coogs competing in Big East play in all sports.

2011 UH Cougar Watch-Huge Game With Tulsa Today

The number 8 ranked University of Houston Cougars have a ginormous 11 AM CST regular season closing game in Tulsa with the Golden Hurricane that will not only determine who wins the C-USA West Division but who hosts the C-USA Championship Game next week against what looks like it may be C-USA East Division champ Southern Mississippi.

That's assuming Southern Miss handles their pigskin business tomorrow against Memphis.  If it doesn't and Marshall wins their showdown against East Carolina, the Thundering Herd would be the C-USA East Champs because they have the head-to-head tiebreaker on the Golden Eagles.   .

Southern Miss would advance with a loss if East Carolina beats Marshall. 

UH along with LSU are the only unbeaten FBS schools left, and the game with Tulsa has major BCS ramifications.  UH has a leg up on Boise State for the automatic BCS bowl bid because they are still in the running to win their conference championship despite Boise State's higher ranking.    

TCU clinched the Mountain West title last weekend thanks to the upset win and has the tiebreaker on Boise State and their win over Colorado State. 

One of the BCS rules for a non AQ conference school is that they must be their conference champ to be considered for an automatic bid to a BCS game.   So far the only thing the Cougars have clinched with that sparkling 11-0 record is bowl eligibility. 

The Cougar seniors painfully remember along with Coach Kevin Sumlin what happened to them in 2009 when they were experienced the same buzz and lofty BCS ranking, then lost to an unranked UTEP.  They also fell short that year of winning the C-USA championship with a 35-31 loss to East Carolina in the 2009 C-USA title game and are determined not to repeat that sequence of events in addition to accomplishing something no Cougar football squad has ever done by winning 12 games.

It will also have major effects on Case Keenum's chances for the Heisman Trophy.    As long as Case and the Cougars keep winning, he's still in the discussion for it and a trip to New York despite the media's attempts to coronate Andrew Luck and Alabama's Trent Richardson  for it. 


8-3 (7-0 C-USA West) Tulsa will be a formidable opponent.  UH leads the all time series with them 19-17, but the Golden Hurricane have a great quarterback in G.J. Kinne and have won 12 straight C-USA games.  One of those dozen wins was a 28-25 defeat they pinned on the Cougars at Robertson Stadium last season

Tulsa has only lost to Oklahoma, Oklahoma St and Boise State and took out UTEP 57-28 last week in El Paso to remain unbeaten in C-USA West play at 7-0. The Cougars were dispatching SMU 37-7 to match them at 7-0 in C-USA West and set up the title showdown at H.A. Chapman Stadium.   
   
The Coogs need to beat Tulsa and win the C-USA title game next week to secure their status as BCS bowl busters and get that elusive BCS bowl berth.  Once they handle their pigskin business against Tulsa today, then they can exhale and pay close attention to what happens to the teams in front of them BCS standings wise.

Eat 'em up!