As long as Tech is the defacto team for a city without pro sports, I think they'd be fine either way.
It's the same reason I can knock East Carolina despite them having 50K in the stands every game. Turn on the TV and you won't find them playing. Why? Because there's probably more people watching them in the stands than would watch them at home. Who would that be? Nobody in the P5 qualifies, because no P5 team has a schedule chock full of those teams. Hard to transfer that argument because it's pro sports and even places like San Antonio and Salt Lake City have plenty of things to do. All that really needs to be taken from this argument is that the level and type of competition you play affects your fan engagement. Playing constant weakling no-namers from far away will kill your fan investment in your program. People get up for games against known opponents that are intertwined in their lives outside of the sport. There's a reason UH fans get up for Rice and don't give a flying fart about South Florida.
ECU fans actually went to the games, how is that a knock. UH games haven't been televised prominently either yet their attendance numbers have been worst than ECU's. BYU, Boise State, and the aforementioned ECU just to name a few. Hell I think Tulane had better % of capacity numbers than UH did in 2014. I agree with this somewhat but it doesn't always affect your fan engagement. The 3 schools mentioned above are just some examples. I just don't see how a UH fan could objectively judge other fan bases on their dedication and passion.
While this is true, you make it seem like that's the reason UH hasn't been putting butts in seats, as opposed to the fans just not being that into the program or supportive overall. It's some of both. I think it's fair to say UH has been making changes to get its alumni more connected to the school and more engaged. Getting in a P5 conference would help on the opponent front. Both are required to get butts in seats, and both have been lacking for a minute.
I think it's hilarious that the only people talking about "stealing recruits" are on cullen. Nobody who matters in Norman or Austin gives a ****, maybe the Stillwaters or Wacos etc... do a bit, but the amount of excessive pride coming out of UH after 1, 1 year of great football is comical. And I hope UH joins a big conference and does wonderful things, but you guys are just, well, UH right now.
Well sure, they aren't talking about it because those people wouldn't want to admit it, but it's pretty clear it's an issue. UT's program is in shambles, they don't want another in state rival to make it hard for them while they are slowly trying to claw their way back to relevance again. OU probably cares less since they are a really strong program and clearly top dog in the Big 12, but a program that can land a Texas 5 star recruit while not even being in a P5 conference is a threat and not something they want to help become stronger. They depend on Texas recruits and even one or two more top recruits going elsewhere is a problem.
Sure it is, UH is already starting to do a pretty good job when it comes to recruiting despite not being in a P5 conference, put them in the Big 12 and that recruiting is only going to get better which hurts struggling programs like UT and makes it harder and take longer for them to get back to relevance. I get why fans wouldn't want to admit that though, pride being what it is, but actions speak louder than words.
But UT still has great recruiting numbers in their worst seasons in decades. If they aren't struggling to land kids at the lowest of lows why would they later?
That is funny. No one is going to be talking about my alma mater when it comes to football (Consistently in the basement of the Big Ten) but what the hell has UT done in football over the last handful of years? Hell for as insignificant as UH is at football, they have MORE wins over the last ten years than UT. UH has finished in the top 15 twice over the last handful of seasons, UT has finished in the top 25 once during that period. So really elite teams don't give a **** about either football team over the last half dozen years. Time to look in the mirror.
The point is that they are still at the lowest of lows and they haven't been able to dig out of the hole they ended up in.....do they really want to have to compete with yet another strong in state recruiter? Even if they only lose one top recruit, that makes it harder for them to become a program that matters again and we all know they DESPERATELY want to get back to relevance as quickly as possible. Right now they aren't even the 3rd best college team in Texas, how long can that stay like that before it starts to tarnish their image?
Right, and if the recruits are really so wonderful, then the program is ****; because it isn't showing in the win column. Also.... "lowest of lows"? UT has had decades of limited prominence in the not to distant past.
Purdue or Northwestern? Or hell, Illinois or Indiana? I'm all for UH in the BigXII, I love UH athletics and I think it would be great fun and great for the state. The UH fanboy cockgobblery reminds me so much of the insufferable ATM "We Rule This State" crap that lasted for all of a year or 2.
Northwestern.... we maybe get a 10 second snippet if we start out 3-0. I am not complaining, if I were an elite football player I wouldn't want to go to Northwestern either. Everyone seems convinced that UH is going to the Big XII, but I am not so certain. UH will never be UT, but I do think that they can be pretty damn good off and on, at football if they are in a big conference. A lot of players would like to stay in the Houston area, and there are a lot of things to do (or were when I lived there). UT fans were obnoxious when they did very well when they moved to the Big XII, TAMU fans were insufferable when they had their little run.... BU fans were overly arrogant.... UH shouldn't be any different. If anyone rules the state of Texas right now it is the SEC and Alabama.
They should be, but based on history it is far from a guarantee... look at the classes that TAMU had a few seasons ago. Things can change very quickly for good or bad..... as a Baylor fan, you should know that very well.
No sh@t, they're the gorilla in all the rooms right now. It's funny though, before Saban, Bama had down years, so did Michican, Notre Dame, Texas, USC, Florida, LSU, Florida St, Ohio St, etc.... It's all cyclical.
The coach is in the 3rd year of a complete program rebuild. Either way, even horrible seasons aren't keeping UT from landing top recruiting classes. This is the bottom. Kids are still coming. When you factor in things like the blowout losses, some on historic levels, this is the lowest of the low. And UT hasn't had two losing seasons in a row since the 80's. I wouldn't call almost 30 years ago not too distant.
