September 10, 2025 • 12 mins
University of Houston Athletic Director Eddie Nunez joins Wex and AC to talk all things surrounding Cougars football, renovations to TDECU Stadium, the future of Cougar sports in an NIL World, his relationship with Willie Fritz and more!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking your team's
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eight Teams.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Eight team here with you four o'clock on Wednesday afternoon.
Another hour of us. We'll get you into the Astros
on deck show after that. So Adam Wexler and Adam
Clinton here with you, and a great pleasure to be
joined by the Vice President of Athletics for the University
of Houston Cougars, Eddie Nunez. Great to have you on
with us, Eddie, especially in advance of the big one
coming up on Friday night with the Colorado Buffaloes in town,
(00:39):
Big twelve football over there at TDECU Stadium. You joined
the Cougars in advance of last year's football season. I
think you could go a number of different ways with
this answer. How long does it feel like you've been
here with the University of Houston.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
A lot longer than one year. I will tell you
it's well. First of all, good afternoon, guys. Great to
be on here with you guys, but it's it's definitely
more than a year. It has definitely felt getting around,
getting know the community, the highs of what we had
to what we had to see, what we had fortunate
(01:13):
to experience with basketball. It's made this a great ride,
though it's been fun.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Did you almost immediately go into what needs to be done?
Even though quite clearly over the last decade plus a
lot has been done. There's always more to do in
the ever changing landscape of college athletics, especially financially speaking
and anil et cetera, with everybody involved. But did you
already have in mind these are the things and these
are the people that you know we need to move
forward with it and try to do even more than
(01:40):
then what's already on display.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, that's that's just human nature. You get here, you
start looking at things, you start assessing them and saying, Okay,
how can we do things a little bit better, a
little differently, how can we expedite for me? One of
the first things that I recognized that I wanted to
continue to improve our game experience, and that's part of
the on non tailgating. I wanted to start with tailgating.
Wanted us to do more allow more so working with
(02:06):
parking with campus to allow parking and people to come
out here earlier to tailgate. That was a big, big
target for me in the fall last year. This year
no different. Where we're trying to strive for is improving
the game experience, knowing that they've done some great things
over the last several years, but there's still so much
more to go. And you're right, this landscape is changing
and it's changing fast. But the one thing that's evident
(02:29):
is we have to make sure that everything we can
do around our events at a high level. And look,
we're not perfect, but we're going to continue to grow
and make it better every week. And that's what I
hope our fans are going to be able to see.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Maybe we just keep it right there real quick. Friday
night and line of light of all those things you said,
tailgating at the atmosphere out there, it's a six thirty
kick on a Friday against Colorado. Great night football. I
was out there for the opener a couple of weeks
ago as the season started with a shut out. What
is in store? So it's the layout and in the
evening for the fans who want to get out there
and get after it against the Buffaloes.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
Well, I appreciate it. Thank you for showing up. And
I think for us, the one thing left Thursday or
two Thursdays ago that we experienced was Thursdays on campus
are hard, and we knew it was going to be
a little bit of a challenge, but we didn't There
were certain aspects that just weren't execute at the level
we wanted to. When it comes to traffic and parking,
getting individuals in and out of campus, we're a little
(03:27):
bit more daunting than we wanted it to be. Looking
at this week, we have really put an emphasis on
all those different traffic patterns, getting people in, getting them out,
how the parking garage is going to work. Feel like
we have a much better plan. Fridays are a lot
easier when it comes to school here, there's not as
much classes as on a Thursday night, so that will
also help. But we're going to just continue to put
(03:49):
an emphasis on all those different aspects from getting here
to leaving, making it easy for our fans. We're working
on much more of an aspect with our concessionaires providing
more Houston touch things that that actually make sense that
our Houstonians know that resonate with the food and then
being Hispanic Herritage, Heritage Night and our celebration towards it.
(04:13):
We want. You're gonna see many more things outside and
inside of the venue that are going to be tied
to the Hispanic heritage celebrations that we're doing. So a
lot going on, but our emphasis is not going to change.
We're going to continue to try to make it easier
and better and hope that our fans experience is going
to be what they what they can expect, and then
let the team do what they do best and take
(04:34):
care of business on the field.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Talking to Eddie Nunez here on Sports Talk seven to
ninety U of Aged Colorado this Friday night, and you know,
all of that is fantastic and well and good, and
I know you know that, but what comes down to
the actual product itself. And I gotta say I'm biased
as a Sam Houston State Bearcat. I've always been a
huge fan of Willie Fritz. But you already know about
(04:56):
the x's and o's and what he's trying to build here.
It's just the character the guy himself. It's got to
be it's got to make your job a lot easier
to work hand in hand with a guy like that.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
You talk about one of the best, most genuine individuals
that you can be around and what you see is
exactly what you get from him. He's authentic, he works hard,
high character, high integrity, and the kids that he wants
around the program and what he instills in them is
exactly that. So, you know, I didn't know Willie before
(05:28):
I arrived here, and I learned very quickly that what
he was doing in the culture that he was building,
and culture is a phrase where a lot of people
say it many times but don't really have a plan
and what it means, what he is doing and how
he's changing the course of this this this program and
of those kids' lives is exactly what our fans and
(05:50):
our supporters should really watch because they're going to see
at firsthand, they're going to see the work ethic, they're
going to see what he's doing on and off the
field very very much in very similar to what coach
Sampson did here when he arrived. And so I'm fortunate
I have two unbelievable coaches that believe in doing it
the right way and and it starts off with you know, high, high,
(06:10):
high integrity, people that work hard.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
You know, it's interesting you mentioned that because I think
of everything you're saying, I agree with about Willie Fritz
just having been around him just a little bit but
following his career and then on the opposite sideline, I
think you have a guy who has also, you know,
changed the culture where he's at. But I don't know
that there's any two different head coaches pitted against each
other in a game like this as Willie Fritz and
(06:35):
Dion Sanders.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Yeah, they're they're they're a little bit different way they
approach what they do. The one thing that I and
I've had the ability to meet coach Sanders a couple
of times, and what the one thing is is you
know he is he is true, He's gonna work hard,
and yes he does it differently. But the one thing
seven and from both of them is they're gonna they're
(06:58):
gonna bring a work ethic that's a that's going to
show what their programs about. Now, the other side of
that is, you are one hundred percent correct, you have
two that the way they approach it is a lot different.
And for the great part of this game, Deon Sanders
has helped elevate what college football has looked like. So
(07:18):
what he's done has been great for the University of Colorado.
What Willy has done at every program he has been
has been astonishing and elevated the standard everywhere and he's won.
So from my perspective, you've got a great comparison between
the two and the two coaches that really do a
phenomenal job in their own way.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Talking with Eddie Nunez, vice president of collegiate's Athletics over
at the University of Houston, one other interesting note or
maybe just interesting to me, had these two coaches met
last year, advantage to Dion and that he would have
had two sons working with him as opposed to one
for Willie. But now Willy has the advantage with Wes
obviously still the general manager, the player personnel director in house,
(08:02):
and now Dion has none. So that in and of itself,
what is it like for you knowing that all these
programs you're putting together and working with these coaches, especially
on the football side, these are positions that did not
even exist, maybe even in three years ago, certainly not
five or ten years ago. With the transfer portal with
nil money. There's a personnel director, there is a general manager.
(08:23):
That is what they do, same job to a certain
degree as NFL talent evaluators, where's the talent? How do
we get them here? And how do we make sure
they want to be here for the reasons that Nile exists.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
So two part question I answer. The first one is
WILLI win toe to toe? He could have last year
he had his son in law on the team as
the coach.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
So we're two to two on Zack Dethridge did move on. Also,
I should didn't note that now at Miami, but you're
right he did.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
He did not. But to answer the question about the
player personnel and you know, the general managers and all
these positions that are now your starf to see much
more in the world of college athletics. It's no different
than what it was, you know, five to ten years
ago when we start seeing recruiting coordinators and so the
same emphasis with evaluating talent, helping the coaches who are
(09:13):
a lot more on the field doing what needs to
be done. And this has become a three hundred and
sixty five day job, I mean, just the recruiting, evaluating talent.
So to have somebody that can do that and now
help with understanding how nil the revenue sharing and all
those pieces play into what compensation or what kind of
(09:37):
nil deals are coming to each one of these kids.
To have a general manager, have a player personnel or
someone of that caliber or some basically it's just really
someone the coaches can trust. Really aids to having success
in this area.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
All right, Your favorite part of the new Memorial Harmon
Football Operations Center is.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
What I think. There's a couple. I mean, if you
think about it, I'm gonna I'm gonna say a couple. First,
there's if you look at the workout facility and the
ramp that that you can run up, and as the
cardio or the steps, the plio steps that are there,
those are all pretty unique. That the pool, the walk,
(10:19):
the coal tank to start off is unique. But I'll
take it all the way back to the uh, the
relaxation room. You know, part of this facility, working with
Mauro Herman, was trying to find out ways to have
our kids be able to to to recoup from practices,
workouts and everything else, and to have a room that
they have massage chairs, relaxations. They can go from there
(10:40):
straight into the training rooms and vice versa. I'm not
gonna tell you that's not about I haven't taken advantage
of it. I might need to go there one of
these days and just sitting on one of these chairs,
but with too many things in me trying to get
around the city as much as I am, I haven't
had time to be able to go and enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
It's a pretty awesome place was there's a a TJ
and everybody else was helping make to make it happen. Obviously,
it's an enormous recruiting tool, a big opportunity when you
play on a Friday night in front of an audience,
obviously in front of the fans of td ECU. I
imagine you're expecting a fantastic atmosphere on Friday night.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
We are sales right now over we would expect at
least at least thirty thousand, and tickets are really continuing
to go. We will do what we've continually done is
push as many tickets to our student body. You know,
last week there the first home game, they showed up
with over eighty five hundred students, the highest ever. I
(11:33):
thought last year's sixty eight hundred when they told me
that was the highestest. That we got to continue to
grow this and so I'm going to try to push
it as much as we can and even grow it
even more than we had the first game. And that's
why we urge. We urge everybody come early, enjoy this.
Try to help us with traffic. I know it's Friday,
Fridays or any day in Houston, getting around is not easy,
(11:54):
so try to come early and enjoy the opportunity to
be here. But that we're gonna We're gonna do thing
we can to get as many people if we can
have a sellout. We're doing everything we can today and
every day leading up to it to sell as many tickets.
There's still tickets available, so come on out. It's going
to be a great night, great weather, Friday night, national television,
(12:16):
and enjoy and showing America what Houston football, what the
Cougar football is all about.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Opportunity to go three and zero to start the season.
I'll be on the trip with the Cougars to Oregon
State two weeks from Friday, and hopefully that's the record
they'll take with them to Oregon. Really appreciate the time, Eddie,
and I'm looking forward to Coog's Buffalo's Friday Night.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
The TDCU gentlemen, appreciate you as always, Thank you again
and look forward to seeing you guys do this weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Sounds great. It's Eddie Nuonyez, vice president of collegiate Athletics
at the University of Houston. More here on the A Team.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Coming up next, The A Team on Sports Talk seven
ninety
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking your team's
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eight Teams.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Eight team here with you four o'clock on Wednesday afternoon.
Another hour of us. We'll get you into the Astros
on deck show after that. So Adam Wexler and Adam
Clinton here with you, and a great pleasure to be
joined by the Vice President of Athletics for the University
of Houston Cougars, Eddie Nunez. Great to have you on
with us, Eddie, especially in advance of the big one
coming up on Friday night with the Colorado Buffaloes in town,
(00:39):
Big twelve football over there at TDECU Stadium. You joined
the Cougars in advance of last year's football season. I
think you could go a number of different ways with
this answer. How long does it feel like you've been
here with the University of Houston.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
A lot longer than one year. I will tell you
it's well. First of all, good afternoon, guys. Great to
be on here with you guys, but it's it's definitely
more than a year. It has definitely felt getting around,
getting know the community, the highs of what we had
to what we had to see, what we had fortunate
(01:13):
to experience with basketball. It's made this a great ride,
though it's been fun.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Did you almost immediately go into what needs to be done?
Even though quite clearly over the last decade plus a
lot has been done. There's always more to do in
the ever changing landscape of college athletics, especially financially speaking
and anil et cetera, with everybody involved. But did you
already have in mind these are the things and these
are the people that you know we need to move
forward with it and try to do even more than
(01:40):
then what's already on display.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, that's that's just human nature. You get here, you
start looking at things, you start assessing them and saying, Okay,
how can we do things a little bit better, a
little differently, how can we expedite for me? One of
the first things that I recognized that I wanted to
continue to improve our game experience, and that's part of
the on non tailgating. I wanted to start with tailgating.
Wanted us to do more allow more so working with
(02:06):
parking with campus to allow parking and people to come
out here earlier to tailgate. That was a big, big
target for me in the fall last year. This year
no different. Where we're trying to strive for is improving
the game experience, knowing that they've done some great things
over the last several years, but there's still so much
more to go. And you're right, this landscape is changing
and it's changing fast. But the one thing that's evident
(02:29):
is we have to make sure that everything we can
do around our events at a high level. And look,
we're not perfect, but we're going to continue to grow
and make it better every week. And that's what I
hope our fans are going to be able to see.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Maybe we just keep it right there real quick. Friday
night and line of light of all those things you said,
tailgating at the atmosphere out there, it's a six thirty
kick on a Friday against Colorado. Great night football. I
was out there for the opener a couple of weeks
ago as the season started with a shut out. What
is in store? So it's the layout and in the
evening for the fans who want to get out there
and get after it against the Buffaloes.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
Well, I appreciate it. Thank you for showing up. And
I think for us, the one thing left Thursday or
two Thursdays ago that we experienced was Thursdays on campus
are hard, and we knew it was going to be
a little bit of a challenge, but we didn't There
were certain aspects that just weren't execute at the level
we wanted to. When it comes to traffic and parking,
getting individuals in and out of campus, we're a little
(03:27):
bit more daunting than we wanted it to be. Looking
at this week, we have really put an emphasis on
all those different traffic patterns, getting people in, getting them out,
how the parking garage is going to work. Feel like
we have a much better plan. Fridays are a lot
easier when it comes to school here, there's not as
much classes as on a Thursday night, so that will
also help. But we're going to just continue to put
(03:49):
an emphasis on all those different aspects from getting here
to leaving, making it easy for our fans. We're working
on much more of an aspect with our concessionaires providing
more Houston touch things that that actually make sense that
our Houstonians know that resonate with the food and then
being Hispanic Herritage, Heritage Night and our celebration towards it.
(04:13):
We want. You're gonna see many more things outside and
inside of the venue that are going to be tied
to the Hispanic heritage celebrations that we're doing. So a
lot going on, but our emphasis is not going to change.
We're going to continue to try to make it easier
and better and hope that our fans experience is going
to be what they what they can expect, and then
let the team do what they do best and take
(04:34):
care of business on the field.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Talking to Eddie Nunez here on Sports Talk seven to
ninety U of Aged Colorado this Friday night, and you know,
all of that is fantastic and well and good, and
I know you know that, but what comes down to
the actual product itself. And I gotta say I'm biased
as a Sam Houston State Bearcat. I've always been a
huge fan of Willie Fritz. But you already know about
(04:56):
the x's and o's and what he's trying to build here.
It's just the character the guy himself. It's got to
be it's got to make your job a lot easier
to work hand in hand with a guy like that.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
You talk about one of the best, most genuine individuals
that you can be around and what you see is
exactly what you get from him. He's authentic, he works hard,
high character, high integrity, and the kids that he wants
around the program and what he instills in them is
exactly that. So, you know, I didn't know Willie before
(05:28):
I arrived here, and I learned very quickly that what
he was doing in the culture that he was building,
and culture is a phrase where a lot of people
say it many times but don't really have a plan
and what it means, what he is doing and how
he's changing the course of this this this program and
of those kids' lives is exactly what our fans and
(05:50):
our supporters should really watch because they're going to see
at firsthand, they're going to see the work ethic, they're
going to see what he's doing on and off the
field very very much in very similar to what coach
Sampson did here when he arrived. And so I'm fortunate
I have two unbelievable coaches that believe in doing it
the right way and and it starts off with you know, high, high,
(06:10):
high integrity, people that work hard.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
You know, it's interesting you mentioned that because I think
of everything you're saying, I agree with about Willie Fritz
just having been around him just a little bit but
following his career and then on the opposite sideline, I
think you have a guy who has also, you know,
changed the culture where he's at. But I don't know
that there's any two different head coaches pitted against each
other in a game like this as Willie Fritz and
(06:35):
Dion Sanders.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Yeah, they're they're they're a little bit different way they
approach what they do. The one thing that I and
I've had the ability to meet coach Sanders a couple
of times, and what the one thing is is you
know he is he is true, He's gonna work hard,
and yes he does it differently. But the one thing
seven and from both of them is they're gonna they're
(06:58):
gonna bring a work ethic that's a that's going to
show what their programs about. Now, the other side of
that is, you are one hundred percent correct, you have
two that the way they approach it is a lot different.
And for the great part of this game, Deon Sanders
has helped elevate what college football has looked like. So
(07:18):
what he's done has been great for the University of Colorado.
What Willy has done at every program he has been
has been astonishing and elevated the standard everywhere and he's won.
So from my perspective, you've got a great comparison between
the two and the two coaches that really do a
phenomenal job in their own way.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Talking with Eddie Nunez, vice president of collegiate's Athletics over
at the University of Houston, one other interesting note or
maybe just interesting to me, had these two coaches met
last year, advantage to Dion and that he would have
had two sons working with him as opposed to one
for Willie. But now Willy has the advantage with Wes
obviously still the general manager, the player personnel director in house,
(08:02):
and now Dion has none. So that in and of itself,
what is it like for you knowing that all these
programs you're putting together and working with these coaches, especially
on the football side, these are positions that did not
even exist, maybe even in three years ago, certainly not
five or ten years ago. With the transfer portal with
nil money. There's a personnel director, there is a general manager.
(08:23):
That is what they do, same job to a certain
degree as NFL talent evaluators, where's the talent? How do
we get them here? And how do we make sure
they want to be here for the reasons that Nile exists.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
So two part question I answer. The first one is
WILLI win toe to toe? He could have last year
he had his son in law on the team as
the coach.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
So we're two to two on Zack Dethridge did move on. Also,
I should didn't note that now at Miami, but you're
right he did.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
He did not. But to answer the question about the
player personnel and you know, the general managers and all
these positions that are now your starf to see much
more in the world of college athletics. It's no different
than what it was, you know, five to ten years
ago when we start seeing recruiting coordinators and so the
same emphasis with evaluating talent, helping the coaches who are
(09:13):
a lot more on the field doing what needs to
be done. And this has become a three hundred and
sixty five day job, I mean, just the recruiting, evaluating talent.
So to have somebody that can do that and now
help with understanding how nil the revenue sharing and all
those pieces play into what compensation or what kind of
(09:37):
nil deals are coming to each one of these kids.
To have a general manager, have a player personnel or
someone of that caliber or some basically it's just really
someone the coaches can trust. Really aids to having success
in this area.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
All right, Your favorite part of the new Memorial Harmon
Football Operations Center is.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
What I think. There's a couple. I mean, if you
think about it, I'm gonna I'm gonna say a couple. First,
there's if you look at the workout facility and the
ramp that that you can run up, and as the
cardio or the steps, the plio steps that are there,
those are all pretty unique. That the pool, the walk,
(10:19):
the coal tank to start off is unique. But I'll
take it all the way back to the uh, the
relaxation room. You know, part of this facility, working with
Mauro Herman, was trying to find out ways to have
our kids be able to to to recoup from practices,
workouts and everything else, and to have a room that
they have massage chairs, relaxations. They can go from there
(10:40):
straight into the training rooms and vice versa. I'm not
gonna tell you that's not about I haven't taken advantage
of it. I might need to go there one of
these days and just sitting on one of these chairs,
but with too many things in me trying to get
around the city as much as I am, I haven't
had time to be able to go and enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
It's a pretty awesome place was there's a a TJ
and everybody else was helping make to make it happen. Obviously,
it's an enormous recruiting tool, a big opportunity when you
play on a Friday night in front of an audience,
obviously in front of the fans of td ECU. I
imagine you're expecting a fantastic atmosphere on Friday night.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
We are sales right now over we would expect at
least at least thirty thousand, and tickets are really continuing
to go. We will do what we've continually done is
push as many tickets to our student body. You know,
last week there the first home game, they showed up
with over eighty five hundred students, the highest ever. I
(11:33):
thought last year's sixty eight hundred when they told me
that was the highestest. That we got to continue to
grow this and so I'm going to try to push
it as much as we can and even grow it
even more than we had the first game. And that's
why we urge. We urge everybody come early, enjoy this.
Try to help us with traffic. I know it's Friday,
Fridays or any day in Houston, getting around is not easy,
(11:54):
so try to come early and enjoy the opportunity to
be here. But that we're gonna We're gonna do thing
we can to get as many people if we can
have a sellout. We're doing everything we can today and
every day leading up to it to sell as many tickets.
There's still tickets available, so come on out. It's going
to be a great night, great weather, Friday night, national television,
(12:16):
and enjoy and showing America what Houston football, what the
Cougar football is all about.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Opportunity to go three and zero to start the season.
I'll be on the trip with the Cougars to Oregon
State two weeks from Friday, and hopefully that's the record
they'll take with them to Oregon. Really appreciate the time, Eddie,
and I'm looking forward to Coog's Buffalo's Friday Night.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
The TDCU gentlemen, appreciate you as always, Thank you again
and look forward to seeing you guys do this weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Sounds great. It's Eddie Nuonyez, vice president of collegiate Athletics
at the University of Houston. More here on the A Team.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Coming up next, The A Team on Sports Talk seven
ninety
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