Moving up: Sam Houston officially joins Conference USA

Jul. 1—HUNTSVILLE — Sam Houston State University has officially joined Conference USA.

With that, the Bearkats have officially navigated a move from NAIA to the top of college athletics with football moving up the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) after becoming one of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) top teams over the last 10 years.

The move to Conference USA comes two years after the Kats moved from the Southland to the Western Athletic Conference.

"It's an exciting time for our athletic department and University as we move to Conference USA," Sam Houston athletic director Bobby Williams said. "We are really looking forward to this. It is a great opportunity and a challenging opportunity, but we've never shied away from that. We are excited about moving forward. In my 41 years at Sam Houston, we have been in five different conferences. Every one of those moves has benefited our athletic program and University. I think that's the best part about it all, you keep moving forward and try to raise the level."

Making the move not only includes the success that Sam Houston has had in athletics, but as a University.

Sam Houston claimed R-2 status in 2022 and has a projected enrollment of 28,000 students by 2031.

"I think this is a great opportunity to keep up with what our university is doing," Williams said. "The opportunity we have is because of how the university has grown. The enrollment, R-2 status and everything that is involved. That has been an important part of athletics. We have prepared ourselves to be at this level with the success that we have had. It also helps out other sports that have been division one since 1987. Because we played at the FCS level, it didn't reflect a Division I view. Moving to FBS, we are viewed differently."

The move from the WAC to Conference USA is also very beneficial to an athletic program that has had a fair share of success. The move allows for a television deal that was announced by the conference on Nov. 10.

The deal has the Bearkats playing football during the week, but allows for it to be on linear TV. Sam Houston has at least four games on CBS Sports, six games on the ESPN family and one game on Fox Sports 1.

But the move all but eliminates the Kats from competing for national championships now. The Kats will have to look towards conference championships and bowl games for postseason play — Sam Houston won an FCS national championship in the spring of 2021 after the postponement of the 2020 season due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The rights deal also gives Sam Houston around $750,000 each year, something they have never received as a part of the FCS.

"The interesting part about this is when we did play on ABC and ESPN, we didn't receive the revenue from any of that," Williams said. "In a lot of ways, it cost us money to host those events. Over the years, the television aspect hasn't been there for us. With all of our success and continued growth, we needed to open up some revenue streams. I think what has happened with the Conference USA television package and what we are trying to do to raise the brand level is going to help us do that."

As the media deal opens a stream of funding, Sam Houston still relies heavily on student fees and help from the institution. In 2022, the athletic department received $10,006,182 from the student athletic fee and another $4,044,314 from direct institutional support. That totaled 70% of the total revenue for Sam Houston athletics.

Donor-based funds have been limited for Sam Houston and in 2022 they brought in $1,144,673 from contributions and in-kind money, but those things will have to step up in the future as growth continues to mount.

"We have a great group of starters, the base group of donors that have supported us at a quality level, but we have to expand our depth," Williams said. "We have to get more people involved. I think that's the biggest opportunity we have. With all the items we have and want to accomplish, it's going to take financial support. The University's support and student support, through an athletic fee, has been very positive and that is stepping up. The other part is the media part and the game guarantees. That is a major part of how we are going to make it happen through this transition."

SHSU's total athletic budget has sat around $20-21 million in the last few years but they will have to increase that. The lowest budget in Conference USA in 2022 was Louisiana Tech at $28,294,724.

In the first year, SHSU plans to up the budget to $25 million in the first year with it growing each year after that. But the need for external money continues to be a factor.

Another revenue stream that Sam Houston will receive is game guarantees. In 2022, the Kats traveled to College Station for a game against Texas A&M and received around half a million dollars for the game.

In 2023, Sam Houston will travel to BYU where they have a guarantee in the contract for $1.2 million. In 2024, SHSU will make $800,000 for the trip to Orlando, Florida, for its game against the University of Central Florida. As an FBS school, they can now play bigger schools for money games as FBS games all count towards bowl records rather than just one FCS game.

"Going into the move to Conference USA, we set the number at $25 million as the first step," Williams said. "We felt like with the increased revenue from the NCAA, television money and game guarantee aspects we will get to it. From that perspective, you have to look at how you create those externals that have to come into play."

Getting financial help is just a stepping stone. Sam Houston has planned several facilities upgrades, including upgrading the press box at Elliot T. Bowers Stadium.

But the drawings and laying out uncovered some underlying issues as Bowers Stadium that have increased the cost of the project to the $60-$80 million range and needs to be completely redone.

With a complete teardown, it allows for some improvements to the concourse as well but comes with a cost of losing potential games at Bowers for the time being.

"It's going to be critical to do that," Williams said. "When you are talking about renovating Johnson Coliseum and the Mafrige Field House, it was over $30 million over time. The financial commitment just keeps growing. What you projected three years ago has doubled or tripled. The press box started at $15 million. Now we are looking at $60-$80 million. Trying to find ways to keep those costs under control and finding a way to pay for it is an ever-changing environment."

Sam Houston is also in the process of adding a new tennis facility, which Williams expects to break ground within the next couple of months.

However, with the rising cost of things, there had to be some adjustments made to the tennis locker rooms that may delay the building of the field house with the courts still planning to be built.

Among other upgrades in the future are the removal of the track from inside Bowers and returfing Don Sanders, Bowers Stadium and putting in turf at the Bearkat softball complex.

As some facilities have been renovated more recently, like the new locker rooms at Johnson Coliseum, there is still some need for extra seating. But with a building that was constructed 47 years ago, it raises some problems.

"We have quite a few things that we want to do at the coliseum, but we are dealing with a 1976 building that we have to keep moving forward," Williams said.

Some other things that SHSU has to look out for are the FBS requirements. Currently, FBS teams are required to have a two-year rolling attendance average of 15,000, but that could change. Sam Houston will get to use the annual NRG game as a home game, which generally tallies over 20,000 fans. Currently, SHSU is scheduled to play Air Force and Texas State in Houston.

On the student-athlete side, football will increase its scholarship number to 85, which in turn increases women's scholarships.

"The biggest challenge has been, over the time we made the announcement and moving forward, is the constant change that has been involved," Williams said. "(Including) the NCAA council and determining what it takes to be Division I. What are the standards that they are setting? Some of those things that you prepared yourself for over the last 20 years and you have some set standards, but now in the last few years, those are changing monthly. That's the biggest challenge."

But now, Sam Houston has successfully navigated its way from NAIA competition to the highest level of football play.

The Bearkats will officially join Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Florida International University, Louisiana Tech, University of Texas at El Paso, Jacksonville State, Liberty and New Mexico State in Conference USA.

"It will be a very positive and emotional time for me," Williams said. "It will be a very rewarding and positive emotional time for me. I care deeply about this program and I wanted to make it better. I always saw a great opportunity for us to compete at a high level."

Sam Houston football will play its first game as an FBS opponent on Sept. 2, with a trip to Provo, Utah, for a game against BYU.