How Houston’s Second Year Under Willie Fritz Stacks Up to His Other Stops
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Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz has made a career out of taking over struggling programs and turning them into winners. Everywhere he has gone, he has gone from zero to hero in a matter of time.
Fritz’s ability to rebuild programs has spanned four divisions and six programs, truly showing that he is a proven winner, no matter the competition or resources given to him.
With the Houston Cougars off to an electric 6-1 start, here’s a look at how Fritz’s other teams have performed under him in his second year.
The Willie Fritz Factor
”I've done it at the junior college level, the Division II level,” Fritz said in his introductory press conference at Houston. ”I've done it at the FCS level, and I've done it at the Group of Five level. I want to do it at the Power Five level. That's a goal of mine… I wanted to come here to have this opportunity in the great state of Texas and in the great City of Houston. I just feel like Houston has had some great teams. It's not like it hasn't been done here before. We just want to do it again and do it consistently year after year. That's the goal here."
Fritz’s successes as a head coach started in 1994, his second year as the head coach of the Blinn Buccaneers, a junior college located in Brenham, Texas. His first year, the team posted a 6–3–1 record. His second campaign with the team, Fritz led the Bucs to a 9-2 mark and a Mineral Water Bowl berth. Over his next two seasons, he would win back-to-back championships before departing for the head job at Central Missouri.
Fritz’s first year at Division II Central Missouri saw the team finish with a 5-6 record before turning it around in year two with an impressive 8-3 result. By the time he left Central Missouri, Fritz had back-to-back 10-2 years with a 97-47 overall record.
In 2010, Fritz took control of the Sam Houston State Bearkats and led them to a 6-5 record. In the very next year, they went 14-1 and made it to the FCS Championship. Under Fritz, Sam Houston State did not miss the playoffs other than in his initial year.
After his sustained success with the Bearkats, Fritz led Georgia Southern to a conference championship and a bowl before accepting the head job at Tulane. Although it took him a while to get it going with the Green Wave, Fritz built them into an AAC powerhouse, winning the conference and the Cotton Bowl in 2022 and the Military Bowl in 2023.
Now with the Houston Cougars, Fritz is showing no sign of slowing down.
