Outside Power Five, UH finds it hard not to be steppingstone

Around this time last year, the University of Houston was seeking a new football coach. Now it is seeking a new athletic director.

Another big loss for UH to another Power Five program.

As Hunter Yurachek heads to Arkansas — a school in the heralded SEC with a budget nearly three times the size of Houston’s — UH is in a position it has often found itself:

Steppingstone.

For as many strides as UH has taken — from its facilities to some high-profile coaching hires — it’s still playing second fiddle to the bigger programs.

That’s the nature of college athletics. The schools that make up the top five conferences are able to compete for the top coaches and administrators in the country. Often, those come from schools in smaller conferences.

So a school like UH grooms talent before the big programs come along and offer higher rungs on the career ladder.

It’s understandable. The money. The facilities. The opportunities to play on bigger stages more frequently. It all brings in more notice.

Moving from a minor conference to a major one is a natural progression. It’s just a shame for schools like UH, which constantly seems to be on the rise but stuck just outside the Power Five.

Last year, the Cougars lost football coach Tom Herman to the University of Texas. Prior to that, they said goodbye to athletic director Mack Rhoades (now at Baylor), who left for Missouri. Before that, there was the departure of football coach Kevin Sumlin to Texas A&M (which fired him last week).

UCF can relate

The Power Five conferences have money and resources that schools like UH simply don’t.

This isn’t something that happens just at UH. Central Florida just finished 12-0, earning a New Year’s Six spot in the Peach Bowl for its exceptional play. The Knighs are also saying goodbye to coach Scott Frost, who is headed back to Nebraska, his alma mater.

In the past several years, UH has been on the map. The football team has defeated Power Five juggernauts such as Oklahoma and Florida State and turned out a lot of talented players. There has has been a lot of positive attention, with the red carpet rolled out for some top-tier hires.

Still, the Cougars are always in danger of losing any coach or administrator who has success on Cullen Avenue.

When Rhoades left UH in 2015, he was open about wanting to being an athletic director in a Power Five conference. And it’s no shock that Yurachek, who spent all of last year campaigning to get UH into the Big 12, wants the same thing.

Money talks

In the meantime, places like A&M can celebrate the hiring of new football coach Jimbo Fisher, whom the Aggies plucked from Florida State.

The Aggies had a top candidate in mind and hired him with ease, largely due to being able to throw a 10-year, $75 million contract his way.

That contract mixed with some of the top facilities in the country gives A&M an advantage when it comes time to hire.

UH will start its search for a new AD immediately.

“The University of Houston remains committed to our winning tradition, and we will immediately begin the search for a leader who shares our desire to compete for championships at the highest level,” UH president Renu Khator said in a statement.

UH is an attractive athletic department and will likely get a good hire.

If that person does a good job, like the previous two ADs have, the university will be in danger of losing him or her when a bigger program comes calling in a few years.