Kelvin Sampson Gets Brutally Honest About Houston's NIL Reality
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After the No. 13 Houston Cougars handled business against the UCF Knights on Wednesday night, head coach Kelvin Sampson, guard Mercy Miller, and center Kalifa Sakho met with the media to discuss Houston's third straight win in Big 12 conference play.
Both Sakho and Miller had solid performances off the bench for the Cougars as they totaled 16 points and 10 rebounds. While Houston dominated the game early, it was still encouraging to see the level of depth the Cougars have heading into the second half of the season.
After answering questions Sakho and Miller both left, leaving Sampson alone on the podium. The head coach briefly recapped Houston's journey this season, but also hinted at something rather alarming concerning Houston's NIL fund.
The Price of a National Championship
Coach Sampson has never been one to sugarcoat the realities of college athletics, and his latest comments on Houston's NIL fund made that clearer than ever. While the Cougars' football team put together a historic season and the basketball program remains as dominant as ever, Sampson argued that Houston still trails some of the other premier basketball programs in the money it can spend.
"We have a poor athletic department," Sampson said. "We're poor. We were poor when I got here, and we're still poor. We probably have the lowest budget of anybody in Power 4. The way our recruiting is going, we have to stop at some point because we don't have enough money. It's not about who we want to sign, it's about who we can afford to sign"
Kelvin Sampson unfiltered:
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 5, 2026
"We have a poor athletic department. We're poor... The way our recruiting is going, we have to stop at some point because we don't have enough money. It's not about who we want to sign, it's about who we can afford to sign" 😳pic.twitter.com/S2SVxphP30
Before jumping to conclusions about Sampson's comments, as some already have, it's important to note that he isn't suggesting Houston's basketball program isn't being compensated properly. The head coach made sure to emphasize the fact that both the Cougars players and coaches are being paid the market rate.
"We participate in the NIL just like everybody else, we know what our kids' market value is," Sampson said. "Trust me, they're not starving here, their getting exactly what the market is for them."
While the current stars on Houston's roster are getting compensated fairly, Sampson's comments on the athletic program's NIL funding point to a much larger issue. The head coach of the Cougars alluded to the fact that they may not be able to sustain their championship-caliber rosters for much longer. While Houston is still a prime destination for any elite recruit, Sampson was blunt when he said that recruits often attend Houston because of the coaching staff.
"Teams that have the best recruiting classes usually have the most money," Sampson added. "That's the way it is today...A lot of these kids we have will come back, but who knows who else we'll sign because of how much money we have. It's not about who we want to sign. It's about who can we afford to sign."
According finances database from USA Today, Houston ranked No. 56 in Division 1 athletics with $78 million in revenue for the 2024 calendar year. While that number has likely increased based on the football program's 10-win season and the basketball program's national championship appearance last April, the Cougars are still behind the eight ball when it comes to matching the financial power of other programs across college athletics.
Unless something changes on the next few years, Houston could face difficult decisions regarding which athletic programs they want to stay competitive in. While a head coach like Sampson is certainly capable of doing more with less, even he can only stretch a limited budget so far. The margin for error also shrinks when every recruiting battle comes down to who can write the bigger check.
