The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Does University of Houston Have a Problem?

Episode Date: October 5, 2026

Does University of Houston Have a Problem?

Somebody did ask me if the Cougars played indoors, would that it be a significant difference maker? I mean, it would make a difference, but not everybody plays indoors. Yeah, I mean, what college that has their own stadium has a roof on it? UNLB. Oh, their own stadium? No. Oh, Syracuse does.

Yeah. Oh, there you go. Well, that's because it's the multi-purpose. Carrier dome. Look, and again, a lot of people have been inquiring to me about, I thought it's about the Cougar group. I mean, we win. We got a good coach,

got administration of cares. We don't have fans of care. And I... You got to win at a higher level. I mean, you have to consistently win... What was the bowl they won last year? Oh, it was the Texas Bowl. We beat the LSU.

Yeah, it's Texas Bowl. We drew for that. It was nice. Yeah. But we, you know, attendance has always been a problem. Always, always, always, always, always. Unless you're playing the dome when A&M or Arkansas or Texas would come and then have the building would do that.

Yeah, I think all the only sellouts have been like Texas and Texas Tech. Central Florida will not bring people in and that's not that you should rely on Central Florida fans to come. You should rely on your own fans. I mean, you know, because big time school, get $100,000 for like Texas State. I have some U of H friends that believe that if the game was at 2.30 or 6 or 7 that we would have had a much of their crowd. I mean, 11 o'clock doesn't help. It just doesn't. And I get that. But I don't, honestly, I don't see much of it. I mean, unless you're talking about literally the weather in terms of 11 versus 230. No, we're going to find out, I think today.

It's not like it's at 6.30 in the morning. Right. I think today we're going to find out the start time of Oklahoma City now. sometimes the league can hold it off on six days at fans. Oklahoma State? Oklahoma State, yeah. Normally it's 13. Okay.

Now, Oak State's going to bring some fans. Okay. They always travel well. They're playing much better. That's good. So the tickets sold to be up. Whatever. That's not your fans.

Whatever. I don't care. Fill it up. I don't care. I mean, you have the fans need to show up for their own team. Well, they weren't there on Saturday. For what reason? You know, I just, again, if I'm Eddie Nunez and Eddie, if you're listening, good morning.

I don't know what to do. I don't have an answer for you. I mean, you could, you could, two for one. Even if you quadrupled the marketing you spent, I don't even know if that makes that big of a difference. In people's mind, 11 o'clock, you know, it's a Saturday, it's a lazy morning. Oh, stop.

I'm saying this is what they're doing. You can't tell me to stop when people are doing. Oh, it's a lazy morning. Am I going to go to the game? It's easier to sit in my house. There's people across the country filling up stadiums at 11 a.m. That is a lame-ass excuse. I'm sorry.

11 and 2.30 doesn't really make much of a difference. It's what we're doing. it's what we're doing. We're choosing... Nobody sleeping into 11. Football, NFL, every NFL game's at 12. I know. But our fans don't...

Every Texan's game, I should say, is at 12th. The options are, be there at 11 and give up to sleep and relaxing on the coffee, or sit at home. And then we want to sit at home. I just don't, I don't buy that. What is the reason then? The reason is the fan base sucks. And there's no history and no winning. Again, as I said it for an hour ago, if the game was at 2.30 or 6, we've had 15,000.

That's what I'm going to say. Maybe it's factors for some people. But let's put the game at 230. What was the intentant's, 25, whatever? What was that sad number? So does it go? Does it go to 30? I don't think so.

I don't want to answer that question because I kind of know the answer. I don't want to answer it. I don't want to answer it. Because I don't know if 17,000 people, because if you would have gotten 17,000 people, you would have had a full house. The 17,000 people go, man, if this game is only three and a half hours later,

and if only the weather was a little bit cooler. Look, we're not the only ones. SMU's top 25 program, and they don't draw flies either. They just don't. Big city schools just have a more difficult time. It's not Oxford, Mississippi, it's not Baton Rouge, not college station.

It's not even Stillwater, Oklahoma. Big cities, Miami, for as great as Miami has been over the years, they have a difficult time drawing. Big cities It's just a bigger issue in metropolitan cities that share that are And not only here in town, but we're splitting up we're splitting hairs We've got Baylor fans, Texas Tech fans, Texas fans, A&M fans

You do, but you've got hundreds of thousands of alums in the city I know, I know So I mean you're rolling like 55K or whatever it is I just don't know how you get a 37-year-old engineering graduate from the University of Houston Who doesn't like sports to go to a game Yeah, okay, but every college has got graduate students. The enrollment is huge. What's the enrollment as opposed to like, I don't know, TCU?

What's TCU enrollment? It's got to be way less private school. They don't draw either. TC, 13,000. TCU at their game, 38,000. Yeah, everybody inflates. What do you mean inflates? Everybody adds numbers.

Okay, yeah, which UH did too. There wasn't 25K in that building. Yeah, there. There was. So TCU got 38. And their enrollment is 13,000. They're in Fort Worth, Texas. Yeah.

We got a problem. And Kook fans, I'm going to KugFans. com or net, whatever. You nerds, get off your computer and go to the games. That's what I want you to do. If everyone of the KookFan.com nerds would stop going to the typewriter and complaining about everything and go to the games would be a lot better. Y'all can S. Talk me you want to on that account, y'all are a bunch of frauds.

I hate you. Real Cougar fans, I saw it the game on Saturday. Going to be there next time. When's the next home game? Two weeks. Rested, ready to go. Let's be good. Here's the conundrum.

We're going to get to break here. We play Kansas State this week. And we're a small dog. Lose that game. Does that all of a sudden go, I don't care what time. No, Oklahoma State game, I'm not going. I mean, I don't know.

Do you have to go win a game you're not supposed to win? That'd be nice, I guess. You've got to win them all, I guess, to get people in that building. That's what it is. You don't allow any room for error. You just don't. That sucks.

That we're going to have a shift of 5, 7, 8,000 people based off of one game. Because let me tell you, if this game is, this Oklahoma State game starts at 6 or 7 or 430 or 5 or whatever the hell next week, two weeks from now, what will be the excuse then? I do think there was a bit of a weather factor because we heard there was going to, we heard there was going to. I heard there was going to be major deluge. Yeah, it wasn't right. I mean, 84, though, it was fine then, but all week we heard that there was going to be massive rain. It's not, it wasn't perfect. It was hot.

Do you massive rain happened, by the way? I think after the game. Yeah. Okay. We talked to even Woli about that on the show this week, about, you know, you're preparing for the, because the weather forecast was, be ready for what's supposed to be monsoon. I think we were going to get the arc out.