Big news perhaps hidden in the interview published by the C-USA office with the Sam Houston athletic director Bobby Williams about the university maintaining its presence at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.

As of right now, Sam Houston plays rival Stephen F Austin annually in a game at NRG Stadium, a rivalry that the Bearkats have controlled for the last decade both on the field and in the stands.

Wonder what this will look like...

Could you provide a link or tell exactly where this interview is located. Thank you.

(07-01-2022 12:25 PM)TexasTerror Wrote:  Big news perhaps hidden in the interview published by the C-USA office with the Sam Houston athletic director Bobby Williams about the university maintaining its presence at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.

As of right now, Sam Houston plays rival Stephen F Austin annually in a game at NRG Stadium, a rivalry that the Bearkats have controlled for the last decade both on the field and in the stands.

Wonder what this will look like...

UTEP would bring a good number of fans and La Tech might too. Good number of UTEP alums in that part of Texas.

(07-01-2022 01:12 PM)MinerInWisconsin Wrote:  

(07-01-2022 12:25 PM)TexasTerror Wrote:  Big news perhaps hidden in the interview published by the C-USA office with the Sam Houston athletic director Bobby Williams about the university maintaining its presence at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.

As of right now, Sam Houston plays rival Stephen F Austin annually in a game at NRG Stadium, a rivalry that the Bearkats have controlled for the last decade both on the field and in the stands.

Wonder what this will look like...

UTEP would bring a good number of fans and La Tech might too. Good number of UTEP alums in that part of Texas.

I remember you jokingly said SHSU and UTEP would play at NRG but it's starting to sound like a real possibility.

Second largest contingent of Tech Alumni outside of the state are in Houston Area. We always travel very well to Rice when we play them.

(07-01-2022 12:48 PM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  Could you provide a link or tell exactly where this interview is located. Thank you.

Link was in initial post from CUSA with full interview

I’d like that game as a recruiting tool for Tech. I think it helped when we played UMass at Gillette Stadium to be able to tell recruits they’re going to get to play a game in an NFL stadium. And we have been known to recruit the Houston area.

That much easier to entice SFA to move up if UTEP and NMSU leave.

(07-01-2022 02:40 PM)pilot172000 Wrote:  Second largest contingent of Tech Alumni outside of the state are in Houston Area. We always travel very well to Rice when we play them.

Those games are hysterical. Tech sidelines are packed and it’s empty on the Rice side

Nice. NRG is a good stadium and will makes SHSU some money. It'll be easier to get a team like Houston or SMU or TTU to schedule a game knowing it will be played there and SHSU will make bank on the gate money.

(07-03-2022 09:38 AM)BKTopper Wrote:  That much easier to entice SFA to move up if UTEP and NMSU leave.

So your saying SFA doesn't want to be in a conference with those 2? Why would that be?

(07-03-2022 09:53 AM)MinerInWisconsin Wrote:  

(07-03-2022 09:38 AM)BKTopper Wrote:  That much easier to entice SFA to move up if UTEP and NMSU leave.

So your saying SFA doesn't want to be in a conference with those 2? Why would that be?

I meant if y’all get poached by the MWC, should have clarified.

I think we’re set at 9 for now so no immediate need for SFA.

Mission accomplished.

2023. Air Force
2024. Texas State (-San Marcos)

Official announcement

(07-03-2022 09:38 AM)BKTopper Wrote:  That much easier to entice SFA to move up if UTEP and NMSU leave.

I think the long term goal for NRG is to play P5 and upper level G5 opponents there (or rivals, no way we’d be able to host TXST at Bowers right now) while keeping CUSA games on campus. If SFA joins in the future, and I hope they do, it’d probably be on campus.

(07-01-2022 12:25 PM)TexasTerror Wrote:  Big news perhaps hidden in the interview published by the C-USA office with the Sam Houston athletic director Bobby Williams about the university maintaining its presence at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.

As of right now, Sam Houston plays rival Stephen F Austin annually in a game at NRG Stadium, a rivalry that the Bearkats have controlled for the last decade both on the field and in the stands.

Wonder what this will look like...

This is interesting. Tech tried this approach around the turn of the century with Independence Stadium in Shreveport. We had the likes of Miami, Cal, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State coming to be visitors at our "home" game. It worked well as we beat Cal and Oklahoma State for example and had 40k+ crowds for those games. The problem was getting consistent opponents to draw bigger crowds. We had Tulsa and SMU fill the void in other years and the crowds weren't big enough to warrant the game there.

I'm sure Sam Houston's situation is better though. An NFL stadium in a huge urban area to draw fans and the recruiting possibilities can really entice a lot of bigger programs to schedule it. I hope it's fruitful for them.

(04-27-2023 02:52 AM)dawgonit Wrote:  This is interesting. Tech tried this approach around the turn of the century with Independence Stadium in Shreveport. We had the likes of Miami, Cal, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State coming to be visitors at our "home" game. It worked well as we beat Cal and Oklahoma State for example and had 40k+ crowds for those games. The problem was getting consistent opponents to draw bigger crowds. We had Tulsa and SMU fill the void in other years and the crowds weren't big enough to warrant the game there.

I'm sure Sam Houston's situation is better though. An NFL stadium in a huge urban area to draw fans and the recruiting possibilities can really entice a lot of bigger programs to schedule it. I hope it's fruitful for them.

I understand doing it but it reminds me of UMASS. It just screams little league.

(04-27-2023 06:06 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(04-27-2023 02:52 AM)dawgonit Wrote:  This is interesting. Tech tried this approach around the turn of the century with Independence Stadium in Shreveport. We had the likes of Miami, Cal, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State coming to be visitors at our "home" game. It worked well as we beat Cal and Oklahoma State for example and had 40k+ crowds for those games. The problem was getting consistent opponents to draw bigger crowds. We had Tulsa and SMU fill the void in other years and the crowds weren't big enough to warrant the game there.

I'm sure Sam Houston's situation is better though. An NFL stadium in a huge urban area to draw fans and the recruiting possibilities can really entice a lot of bigger programs to schedule it. I hope it's fruitful for them.

I understand doing it but it reminds me of UMASS. It just screams little league.

IIRC UMASS played all of their home games at Gillette a while. That would be detrimental, sure. Playing in the NFL stadium just once a year helps, if anything. Plus I think we need to have them, as there’s no way we’d ever meet 15k threshold without NRG games.

The one thing to keep in mind with this and I may have said it earlier in the thread - Sam Houston's biggest alum base is in Houston. Period.

The institution essentially treats this game as a 'touch' / 'engagement point' to its alumni base, many of whom do not make it up to Huntsville for sporting events, theatre or other alumni activities. There has been an increasing amount of institutionally-sponsored and other events tied to this game that brings fraternities, sororities, etc. together in a way that Homecoming and other functions have not.

For many of those alums, this football game is their only touch to the university and it is a sense of pride, connection for them.

To me, this is simply a huge marketing campaign into Houston for the university that as a FCS school amounted to getting an FBS payout (with how the LSSE contract was structured). As an FBS school, curious how things change for the payout to the SHSU athletic department AND how this game develops particularly as it gets bigger name opponents. Will the fans respond in the same way they did for the SFA game and will the attendance help ensure that Sam Houston is safely over the 15k threshold based on the rest of the year's attendance?