When the news that Houston was headed to the Big 12 officially broke, UH women’s basketball coach Ron Hughey’s phone would not stop buzzing.
“I’ve already received four calls from kids who turned us down because (the American Athletic Conference) wasn’t where they wanted to play,” Hughey said just hours after UH accepted an invitation to join the Big 12.
Across the board for Houston’s athletic programs, having some of the country’s highest-rated student-athletes overlooking an offer from UH because of its lack of Power Five status had become the norm since the Southwest Conference dissolved in the ‘90s.