UH president Renu Khator discusses the efforts to join a Power 5 conference.
As the talk of Big 12 expansion continues, University of Houston president Renu Khator said Friday the school remains a viable candidate to join a Power 5 conference.
In her first public comments since the Big 12 announced July 19 that it would explore expansion, Khator continued to tout the university’s Tier One research status, location in the 10th-largest media market and emergence as a “nationally competitive athletic program.”
“We have all the credentials to be looked at very seriously,” Khator said during a break to help students move into campus housing for the start of next week’s fall semester.
Khator said the university is going through the process but declined to provide details, including whether a formal presentation has been made to the Big 12. It is believed all candidates — a list of school that reportedly includes at least 20 — have signed a confidentiality agreement with the Big 12 not to discuss the process.
“All I can tell you is we continue to move forward,” Khator said.
State presents obstacle
UH has received public support from two schools in the state, including the University of Texas, but Khator said she is hopeful a perceived reluctance to add a fifth Texas school to the Big 12 is not a roadblock from the league’s six out-ofstate members.
Iowa State president Steven Leath, one of 10 presidents who will cast a vote on expansion, recently told the Ames Tribune that Big 12 presidents “feel the league is Texas-heavy already.”
“Certainly hope not, because people can see we are in a big media market, they can see our trajectory academically,” Khator said in response to whether adding a Texas school could be a potential roadblock. “I think we are an asset no matter where we are.
“I hope (the Big 12 Board of Directors), when they sit down and consider, they look at everything we have. We have done our part and will continue to do our part.”
In the past year, UH officials, including Khator, have considered various options regarding conference realignment, holding internal discussions about the Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast Conference.
UH has received public support from state politicians, including Gov. Greg Abbott, and UT president Greg Fenves and chancellor Bill McRaven.
In an email released this week, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby wrote to Khator on July 26, informing her the conference has “finalized our procedures for consideration of potential” Big 12 members.
Bowlsby asked Khator to provide “a very brief communication indicating your interest in being considered.”
UH has been among the top candidates mentioned if the Big 12 decides to expand by two or four schools, along with BYU, Cincinnati, Memphis, Connecticut, Central Florida and South Florida. BYU’s candidacy has come into question in recent weeks by LGBT advocacy groups, who have urged the Big 12 to drop the school from consideration because of concerns over its Honor Code, which outlines provisions that could lead to a student being expelled or suspended for engaging in a same-sex relationship.
Process likely long
Leath told the newspaper the consensus among presidents is that Big 12 expansion is likely to occur and fans will “see a different Big 12 in the somewhat near future.” The Big 12 has not publicly discussed the expansion process or committed to adding schools. No timetable has been set for completion of formal presentations. Any potential candidates would require eight yes votes to gain membership.
The process could last until late December, Leath told the Iowa State Daily.
In the meantime, Khator said UH will continue to “do everything possible to showcase our university.”
She then smiled and looked at second-year football coach Tom Herman, whom she called “our winning card … our trump card.”
“Again those decisions are made well above my pay grade, made by presidents, board of regents and sometimes politicians,” Herman said about conference expansion. “I’m happy that our university has put itself at the forefront of that conversation due to their commitment to not just Tier One research but Tier One athletics as well.”