Attention Houston Students: Coach Tom Herman Is Calling

There’s a mighty wind a blowin’ at the University of Houston these days. It’s a wind of change sweeping the campus ever since new football coach Tom Herman stepped into Cougar country.

It’s one thing to talk about how the football team is going to be changing under Herman, who is bringing a new style of offense with him from Ohio State. In fact, my colleague Jacob Thigpen called Houston the AAC’s biggest sleeping giant, and noted Herman is in the almost perfect position to be a contender.

The Cougars are in the middle of spring practice; a time where Herman and his staff are getting their first solid look at their new team. There must be a ton to do getting guys ready to play in a new system.

But that’s not stopping Herman and company from bringing another big change to campus.: it’s all about the students, and getting them excited about Cougar football.

This week students returned from spring break and campus is buzzing. The team launched a scavenger hunt contest fueled by social media to find hidden red footballs signed by Herman.

.@UHouston Students-Want a signed @CoachTomHerman football? Check out the video. See you at TDECU Stadium on Saturday pic.twitter.com/Bu10L0uSXc

— Houston Football (@UHCougarFB) March 23, 2015

Herman himself went onto campus to speak with a couple classes, which set off a firestorm of tweets and Instagram posts.

Thank you to Dr. Simon Bott for allowing @CoachTomHerman to speak to these AMAZING University of… https://t.co/FT4OZWNCD2

— Houston Football (@UHCougarFB) March 24, 2015

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That included including Chemistry instructor Dr. Simon Bott – who is well-known at UH for being a big supporter of Cougar Athletics (he had Shasta, the Cougars mascot in class a couple years back).

And come Saturday, during the huge Frontier Fiesta celebration UH holds ever year, the team is holding what’s being called the “Football Student Appreciation Practice.”

Students will be allowed on the field during the scrimmage and there will be interaction with the players and coaches. It’s as close as you can get to an all-access pass to a major college football program.

How great is this? In a time when many schools are shrinking access and shrinking student sections to squeeze more big-money donors into the seats, Herman and Houston are trying to create a huge home-field advantage by getting their students heavily involved in the program.

There are lessons to be learned here. At most schools there is no group more invested in what happens on the football field than the students. And at Houston, where the Cougars are constantly competing for attention, getting the students heavily involved not only benefits the team, it creates a culture that can lead to big benefits down the road.

Now, here’s the reality check. The Cougars need to win. All of the hoopla and hysteria only goes so far; it will likely get students to pay attention and into TDECU Stadium, but wins and championships will keep them there. We will have to wait to see if those changes to the football team are as successful as the campus craziness has been to this point.