UH's strategy in Big 12 quest

[smupony94]

Yes, they are an academic success story



UH's strategy in Big 12 quest
Academic advances mean school belongs in top athletic league, chief says
By JEANNIE KEVER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 21, 2010, 12:55AM
photo
Nick de la Torre Chronicle

UH believes it has the credentials to join Oklahoma State, a team UH beat last season, in the Big

The head of the Big 12 insists there are no plans to add Texas teams to the conference, but Renu Khator, chancellor and president of the University of Houston, apparently didn't get the message.

She's still pushing for membership in the Big 12 or another high-powered athletic league, saying the school deserves a spot because of its rising academic ambitions.

"Sometimes you get defined by the company you keep," Khator said. "You compare your progress against the schools in your league. Being associated with the highest group is always a good thing."

The effort picked up speed last week when 26 area legislators made the case in a letter to Gov. Rick Perry, other state leaders, Big 12 executives and the presidents of the Big 12 schools.

Politicians won't have the final say, but the letter suggests how high the stakes are, and the powerful interests that will be watching the decision.

"For years, the University of Houston has improved its research and academic functions in its drive to rank among the premier universities in Texas," the letter states. "We believe that its inclusion in the prestigious Big 12 conference would assist in this endeavor."

There's little debate that big-time athletics and, especially, televised games, draw attention to a school's academic programs.

"That can be an advantage, if you're looking for outstanding students," said Alan J. Hauser, president of the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association.

But the risks are big, too.

Hauser, a professor of philosophy and religion at Appalachian State University, said he's seen other schools move to a more competitive division after a few winning seasons.

"I don't think these institutions realize what they're getting into because they have to commit so many resources to their athletic programs," he said. "It may give you a higher profile but at considerable expense to your overall institution."
More revenue at stake

Khator said UH stands to gain more from the investment it already is making in athletics.

"We already put in the money," she said. "The question is, Am I getting the return on my investment? What increases is the revenue you generate from tickets, marketing, licensing."

Schools in more competitive conferences do spend more on sports, she said. "But their revenue is significantly higher."

Historically, academic stature and geographic proximity were big factors in creating a conference, said Rick Greenspan, athletic director at Rice University.

Now, with air travel and the lure of television money, there is less clear alignment of academic standards.

The Big 12 is down to 10 members after two members decamped for other conferences, but it still includes most of the big Texas schools — the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University and Baylor University - and Khator contends that UH's size, commitment to new athletic facilities and academic ambitions make it a good fit.

Five Big 12 members, including UT and A&M, belong to the elite Association of American Universities, which represents the nation's top research institutions. UH, Tech and Baylor all hope to join the group someday.

UH and Rice, meanwhile, compete in Conference USA, a collection of 12 schools in Texas and the South. Among C-USA members, only Rice and Tulane are in the AAU.

So the Big 12 has more elite academic programs. But the bigger difference is that members automatically have a shot at a post-season bowl game, along with the money that confers. C-USA teams don't.

Greenspan said Rice wants an equal chance at post-season play for its football team, too.
Rice's success

Rice President David Leebron wants "the best success we can have but within the confines of our mission," said Greenspan, who has been on the job only four months.

That means players who meet Rice's stringent academic standards and are likely to graduate.

"That might put us at a competitive disadvantage," Greenspan said. "I think you can mix high-quality academics and high-quality athletics."

Khator agreed, saying she considers top-flight athletics part of her campaign to make UH nationally competitive.

"When we talk about building a nationally competitive university, I want it to be nationally competitive athletically, academically, in research and in teaching," she said. "I think our student-athletes deserve to be in a setting that is nationally competitive."
Athletes up to academics?

Carole Browne, a biology professor at Wake Forest University and co-chair of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, said the desire for rock-star athletics can hurt the students on the field, especially when the players aren't prepared for the level of academic work a Tier One university requires.

"Academically, they may have fared better in a different institution," Brown said.

Khator has found support among UH faculty for the cause.

"I think in general, anything that elevates the national prominence of UH is looked upon positively by faculty," said Mark Clarke, president of the Faculty Senate. "The mainstream view would be that that's a good thing, that any Tier One university would have, hopefully, a Tier One athletics program."

Still, he acknowledged, not all faculty members agree.

And everyone will be watching to see how - and how much - money is spent.

"If we had an athletics program that was breaking even, I don't think there would be any discussion," said Clarke, noting the excitement on campus after the Cougars' hot football season last fall. "There's a clear recognition that, in a perfect world, yes. But there's also recognition that we have to be careful about how we move forward.

[mr. pony]

What's SMU's strategy?

[Billy Joe]

Isn't Houston viewed as a glorified community college commuter school? I have never heard anyone mention the University of Houston and good academics in the same sentence.

[RGV Pony]

Houston needs to give it a rest. One of two things is going to happen. One, they'll underperform this year a la Tulsa, or two, they'll have a decent year and Sumlin will be gone.

We were their HOMECOMING opponent in a season after they'd already beaten 3 BCS teams, and they didnt sell their place out.

Come on, folks.

[reddevil]

"Sometimes you get defined by the company you keep," Khator said. "You compare your progress against the schools in your league. Being associated with the highest group is always a good thing."

Shouldn't Houston be concerned with first competing academically with the schools in its current league? It seems that despite whatever improvements that may have been made, Houston is still towards the bottom of CUSA-West. I guess it is very competitive in the classroom with UTEP though.

[mr. pony]

I commend the Coogs for pushing to move up.
Hey, anybody heard if Andre Ware has called for TCU's inclusion in the Big 12(10)?

(Maybe he has. I don't know.)

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

With all due respect to UH, it is nowhere near the class of most of the other Big-12 universities. Nor does it have any realistic prospect of getting there. UH is just another product of the wacko, nonsensical public university system in Texas that features no less than 6 seperate "systems" and a handful of "independent" public universities that all fight in the legislature for the scraps from UT-Austin's table.

Becoming a tier one research university is about doing many things, and athletics is way down on the list. How about starting with something simple like endowment? The UH system has an endowment of approximately $490 million dollars. That's less than half of SMU's endowment and approximately seven times smaller than the endowment for Rice (which has less than 4,000 undergrads).

Althetics are great, and I certainly understand the benefit that top athletics can bestow on a university in terms of alumni support, money, exposure and student recruiting. But athletics are not the panecea that will transform a commuter school into a tier one research university. Unfortunately, I think the misconception that they can is one of the things driving the terribly destructive arms race in college athletics today. Too many schools are chasing the brass ring. . .and most of them are losing tons of money along the way. Turner is right, its unsustainable.

So with that. . .best of luck UH!

[Alaric]

Isn't Houston viewed as a glorified community college commuter school? I have never heard anyone mention the University of Houston and good academics in the same sentence.

Not saying UH belongs in the Big 12 but they've made tremendous strides over the last ten years to build a feeling of community at the school by increasing the number of on-campus housing units, strongly encouraging freshman to live on campus, moving football back to campus and other changes. While I think their overall academics compare to Tech, they do have some good programs (law school, petroleum & chemical engineering). Still lots of "Cougar High" sentiment down there but I hear people are starting to think differently about the school...

[MustangIcon]

UH is far and away ahead of Tech in terms of being a research instituation and in general academics. Some of their professional programs are also pretty highly regarded. Their PT and E MBA programs rate very well amongst public universities and the Law school has always been rated very well in the "best value" type categories and fared well in the public school rankings.

The funny thing is, everyone here is mocking their attempts to better themselves (well guided or misplaced, whatever you may think), while SMU, at least publicaly, has made no such push. Kudos to UH for trying to make somethin happen. I guess they come from the mindset that you make your own lot in life and don't just sit back and wait for something to fall into your lap while [deleted] about things that happened 25 (DP) and 15+ ( No SWC) years ago.

[BroOrDie]

w/e academic advances(w/e that means anyway) they may make...they have one of the WORST stadiums for TV ever built.

lest anyone forget that the purpose of conf's is for profitability and marketing and NOT academics.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

[quote="MustangIcon"]. . .The funny thing is, everyone here is mocking their attempts to better themselves (well guided or misplaced, whatever you may think), while SMU, at least publicaly, has made no such push. Kudos to UH for trying to make somethin happen. I guess they come from the mindset that you make your own lot in life and don't just sit back and wait for something to fall into your lap while [deleted] about things that happened 25 (DP) and 15+ ( No SWC) years ago.[/quote]

I can't speak for others, but I can see where my previous comments could be construed as mocking
UH. I didn't intend that. I respect UH and think its a fine school. I'm happy we're back in a conference with them. But if UH is going to become AAU and a tier one research institution, they have a long way to go on many fronts.

Also, I don't necessarily disagree with the quiet approach SMU is taking. I think Missouri's close shave has shown the danger of wearing your conference aspirations on your sleeve. UH is now out there publicly shopping themselves. Great if it works out for them. Not so good if it doesn't. TCU has moved conferences several times and everyone knows they would move if it suited them, but I don't recall top officials at TCU making public statements about wanting to leave their current conference for greener pastures. SMU appears to be taking a similar approach. All indications are that SMU is not just sitting back and waiting for things to fall in its lap. Just because Turner and Orsini aren't on the front page of the DMN lobbying for this or that conference, doesn't mean they aren't working on it.

[htownponyfan]

UH is far and away ahead of Tech in terms of being a research instituation and in general academics. Some of their professional programs are also pretty highly regarded. Their PT and E MBA programs rate very well amongst public universities and the Law school has always been rated very well in the "best value" type categories and fared well in the public school rankings.

The funny thing is, everyone here is mocking their attempts to better themselves (well guided or misplaced, whatever you may think), while SMU, at least publicaly, has made no such push. Kudos to UH for trying to make somethin happen. I guess they come from the mindset that you make your own lot in life and don't just sit back and wait for something to fall into your lap while [deleted] about things that happened 25 (DP) and 15+ ( No SWC) years ago.

Could not agree more. Being a mustang I would rather see SMU in the discussion for a Big 12 spot. That being said, I would also like to see SMU push harder for consideration. Can't blame UH for trying to get out of CUSA. Do we not have any proponents in the state legislature?

[EastStang]

Fresno whored itself out for years and now look at what's happened, they were left behind not once but twice in MWC expansion. They destablized the the WAC and now are left in a very weakened conference. Missouri did the same, and nearly got handed its head. Memphis, UCF and ECU have been hiking their skirts up for years to the BE and the BE has pretty much ignored them. UH is now wiggling its rear to the Big XII. Contrast that with Nebraska which quietly rebuilt it program and then listened at the right time to the Big Ten. Colorado, quietly waited until the PAC Ten moved and then made the right inquiries. Utah was totally silent prior to the expansion talk. So, the lesson here is talk on the field, not to the press. Grow your market share. And let those items do the talking.