Houston head coach Tom Herman has a bit of added incentive to push the Cougars into the Big 12.
According to athletic director Hunter Yurachek, Herman is in line for a $5 million bonus if the Cougars join a Power 5 conference.
“We want him to be our coach for the very long term,” Yurachek said, via Heather Dinich of ESPN. “It was a special memo between Coach Herman and myself. It’s not officially in his contract, but I’d be glad to share it with you. It is legally binding. It’s a memo from myself to coach Herman. The university will honor that. It’s got my signature and his signature as employees of the University of Houston.”
The Cougars have made no secret of their interest in joining the conference, and they made their case by defeating No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday.
“The one message that was loud and clear to me was [Oklahoma president] Dr. [David] Boren said he wanted somebody that was going to make the Big 12 more competitive,” Yurachek said. “You see what the program is doing right now and coaches in the Big 12 are talking about they don’t want any part of the University of Houston. To me that checks that box of someone being competitive if you’ve got the coaches that are concerned about someone being a member of the conference.”
Herman is a hot property in coaching circles right now. The former Ohio State offensive coordinator has a tight bond with his players, and he’s getting results, too. The Cougars would definitely be an intriguing add to the Big 12 as they look to expand.
