UH Coach Kevin Sumlin Invites Alums to Fill the Seats
Published on February 16, 2009
UH Head Football Coach Kevin Sumlin Counting on Bauer Alumni to Spread Enthusiasm for Cougar Athletics

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Increasing attendance at UH sporting events, along with promoting accolades such as Bauer College’s #1 undergraduate entrepreneurship program ranking, will help the university reach Tier One status, head football coach Kevin Sumlin said at a Bauer Alumni Association breakfast.
“It takes leadership, it takes talent and it takes support,” Sumlin told the audience at the event, which was held at Houston City Club.
Along with other groups within UH Bauer, the college’s Alumni Association is working to help UH earn flagship status. “It’s important we grow together,” Sumlin said.
Alumni have a vital role in making UH a recognized institution through a reputation grounded in athletics and academic achievements, he added. Under the leadership of UH President Renu Khator, UH is set on a path toward positive change, Sumlin said.
“We are happy to be a part of the transition in the university,” he said. “This is an exciting time. Dr. Khator has a tremendous vision for this campus.”
Bauer College is helping to build the UH reputation through the accolades it has earned from various publications, Sumlin said. In 2008, the Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff for Entrepreneurship was named first in the country, while BusinessWeek rated the evening MBA program as the best in Houston.
“Those are the statistics that are important,” he said. “Winners associate with winners, and I’m happy to associate with you.”
Sumlin said attendance at sports events was vital to helping UH build a reputation as a strong athletic institution to rival other state universities, including Texas A&M and the University of Texas at Austin. In fact, coming to the games is the most important thing that students, alumni and the UH campus could do, stressed Sumlin.
“For 14 weeks of the year, the world gets an idea of the University of Houston,” he said of the football season. “It’s an important part of the university and college experience.”
By Mayra Cruz