Herman’s charity more than just talk
Coach commits on professional, personal levels
Anthony Clarke shows up at the University of Houston’s Athletics-Alumni Center usually before dawn.
As the housekeeping supervisor for the school’s athletic department, it’s Clarke’s job to do a little bit of everything, moving between facilities and making sure “everything’s up to par and everybody’s happy.”
On game days during football season, Clarke stays late to make sure, among other things, that the parking lots are clean around TDECU Stadium.
“One thing I learned about anything in life, you never know who’s watching you,” said Clarke, who has worked at the school for three years.
This summer, Clarke was walking past the weight room on the first floor of the alumni center when he bumped into Tom Herman, about to begin his second season as football coach. Herman asked Clarke if he had received some of the Tshirts and caps he had sent.
Then he asked Clarke if they could speak privately.
“What did I do?” Clarke
said he thought to himself.
“I’m going to fix that for you,” Herman said, pointing in Clarke’s direction. “Fix what?” Clarke said. “Your mouth,” Herman said.
Years of deterioration had left Clarke’s teeth in bad shape. There were gaps where teeth used to be, the result of an elbow to the mouth playing basketball with his grandchildren this year. His front teeth were the first to go and eventually he began to “pull out the rest left and right” until only 15 remained.
What happened next surprised Clarke, who said he only knew Herman from the times the two crossed paths during the day.
“I appreciate guys that do hard work and do it with a smile,” Herman said.
Smile therapy
He then told Clarke, “I want you to be able to smile with your mouth open.”
Herman paid $5,000, and with the help of Dentiq Dentistry — a comprehensive dental office in downtown Houston that waived almost all of the cost — Clarke had his smile restored with dental implants.
“Coach Herman is my guardian angel,” Clarke, 60, said.
It doesn’t stop there for Herman, 41. Along with his visibility as one of college football’s rising coaching stars — he does numerous speaking events throughout the year — the list of philanthropic endeavors by he and wife, Michelle, include organizations and people that carry special meaning to the couple. In the past year, he has donated more than $230,000 of his own money to salary increases for his football support staff; to the 46ers, the main fundraising arm of the football program; the local chapter of the American Heart Association; and UH’s Jack J. Valenti School of Communication.
The giving is another side to Herman, who went 13-1 in his debut season but has dealt with adversity in his second year at Houston, from losses to Navy and SMU to the recurring speculation about his leaving for a more lucrative job
“The places and things we give to are of extreme importance to us,” Herman said. “They’re also areas that I know the money is going to be used well. The same with my time. If my time can genuinely help the cause and that cause is very, very important to Michelle and I, then we’ll do it.”
During an auction at last year’s Bear Bryant Award, where Herman was a finalist for the national coach of the year, he raised his paddle to pledge $5,000 in honor of UH associate head coach/co-defensive coordinator Craig Naivar, who had a heart scare a few months earlier.
“It speaks volumes about who he is and what he’s really about,” said Naivar, who has known Herman for a decade and worked with him at Sam Houston State, Texas State and Rice. “He cares. It’s not just a hashtag. It’s not just a recruiting slogan. It’s not just kissing players before the game because I want the publicity. He cares. He truly does.”
Looks after staff
When Herman signed a $3 million-a-year contract in December, he asked that $200,000 in discretionary income that would have gone into his pocket be set aside for members of his football support staff.
“Because you’re nobody without great people around you,” Herman said.
One of the first steps Herman took when hired was a pledge to match up to $25,000 in contributions to the 46ers, a once invitation-only organization that raises money that goes directly to assist the football program. The figure was reached in less than two weeks.
Jerry Portele, a UH alum and one of the group’s founders, said Herman’s commitment and success on the field — the Cougars are 20-3 the past two seasons — has increased members from 40 to more than 300.
“Tom doing what he did, putting his money where his mouth was, definitely was a shot in the arm. Nobody can deny that,” Portele said. “What it does is create a sense of buy-in, a sense of commitment and people look at themselves in the mirror and say, ‘Well, if we truly love this program, if we truly love this coach and believe in him, we’re going to follow his lead.’ You can see the results just in the number of people that got involved.”
Herman said the donation to the Valenti School came out of an interest that is “near and dear to my heart” when he worked in TV and radio production in Los Angeles while a student at California Lutheran. Today, Herman’s weekly TV show is produced almost entirely by students in the Valenti School.
Sometime next year, there are also plans for the Hermans to donate $10,000 for new computers in the academic lab to assist student-athletes in all sports.
Along with the numerous speaking engagements he and his staff do each year, Herman said he hopes his visibility in a high-profile position can “spark others to give back.”
“I love the University of Houston,” Herman said. “I love the city of Houston. My wife loves the University of Houston. My wife loves the city of Houston.
“Any time we can give back to the university or the city, we are going to take that opportunity because we are blessed, quite frankly, to be in a position in our lives economically that we can do that. I believe in a life of giving and not taking. (And) the places that are most special to me and my family right now are the University of Houston and city of Houston.”
Unforgettable gesture
In the days after the implant, Clarke was back at work. He stopped by Herman’s office to show off his smile.
“Coach Herman has made me a Cougar fan for life,” he said. “I’ll never forget him. He and his family are always in my prayers. I could never, ever forget that man.”