Houston men’s basketball is less than a season removed from playing in the national championship game, and the program is again one of the best in the country, currently ranked in the top 10 with a 20-2 record. But coach Kelvin Sampson lamented the university’s lack of resources this week.
“We have a very poor athletic department. We’re poor,” Sampson said after his team’s 79-55 home win over UCF on Wednesday. “We were poor when I got here, and we’re still poor.”
Sampson has built the No. 8 Cougars into one of the top teams in the sport during his 12 seasons at the helm, including seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of Final Four runs, helping elevate Houston from the American to the Big 12 in the process. But that conference realignment has contributed to some of Houston’s financial limitations, including recruiting in this era of name, image and likeness compensation and revenue sharing.
“Teams that have the best recruiting classes usually have the most money,” Sampson said. “That’s the way it is today. It’s not about who we want to sign. It’s, ‘Who can we afford to sign?’”
The Cougars joined the Big 12 in 2023 with the lowest athletics budget among power conference programs, and they remain at the bottom of that list, even as the budget has increased. Houston posted athletics revenue of almost $93 million in fiscal year 2025, roughly $6 million short of its nearly $99 million in expenses. It was the second year in a row that the athletic department recorded a deficit.
Top athletics programs such as Texas, Ohio State, Georgia and Michigan have annual budgets north of $200 million.
The university is in its third year as a member of the Big 12 and will receive a full revenue share allotment from the conference for the first time in fiscal year 2026, which will contribute to an expected increase from roughly $19 million to between $30 million and $40 million. However, the onset of direct revenue sharing with athletes under the House settlement — which Houston intends to fully support within the $20.5 million cap this year — will increase expenses as well.
“We participate in the NIL just like everybody else,” Sampson said. “We know what our kids’ market value is. Trust me, they’re not starving here. They’re getting exactly what the market is for them.”
Despite his financial concerns, Sampson has thrived on the court as well as on the recruiting trail. Houston brought in the No. 3 recruiting class in 2025, according to the 247Sports Composite, headlined by a trio of five-star freshmen prospects, including potential NBA lottery picks Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr. But the veteran coach isn’t convinced that trend can continue much longer.
“The way our recruiting is going, we have to stop at some point because we don’t have enough money to keep bringing in really good players,” Sampson said. “And that’s not easy for us to do.”
Sampson has spoken out previously about Houston’s resource challenges. The Cougars participated in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas the past two seasons, which paid the program at least $1 million in NIL funds each year to be distributed among the team.
“We had no choice,” Sampson said last year about his decision to participate in the event. “Have you seen our budget? Have you seen our fundraising? We have to raise our money.”