Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson Says Athletic Department Is 'Poor'

Another day, another program crying poor because they don't have the funds to pay a bunch of 18-23-year-olds millions of dollars in NIL contracts.

The broke bastard du jour is Houston Cougars head coach, Kelvin Sampson, who recently went on a two-minute tirade about how impoverished his athletic department is.

READ: Kelvin Sampson, Rick Barnes Are A Rare Breed In College Basketball, Who Still Love This 'Beautiful Game'

Upon initial reflection, it would be easy to accuse a guy like Sampson of hysterics.

As Uncle Junior of The Sopranos would say, "he's like an old lady with a Virginia ham underneath his arm crying the blues because he's got no bread."

For starters, the Cougars just made it to the national championship game last year, and if not for a heroic run by Florida Gators stars Walter Clayton Jr. and Thomas Haugh in the second half, Sampson would probably have a banner hanging in the rafters for his efforts in 2025.

Even if you go by recruiting, which is usually a good indicator of how flush a college program is with cash, the Cougars signed the 3rd ranked class in the 2025 recruiting cycle, with three top-20 prospects to show for it.

However, with the way things are going these days, Sampson may have a point.

Based on reports from both the Houston Chronicle and Sports Business Journal, the Cougars' $100 million athletic budget is one of the lowest in Power 4 athletics.

And, when you consider some of the in-state titans that Houston has to compete against, namely schools like Texas and Texas Tech, you start to get the picture of just how hopeless things are in Space City.

Public opinion is split on the matter, with some commenters bristling at the idea that last year's national runners-up need an influx of cash, while others are seeing firsthand how the Cougars are getting lapped by programs in their own state.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between, as is the case with most things.

Houston isn't necessarily "poor," and aside from revenue sharing, most of the NIL money comes from booster and fan support, not athletic departments (though that may change in the future).

However, it is fair to call out the fact that Houston doesn't have the same resources as some of the other in-state schools do.

Sadly, programs like Houston will continue to feel the squeeze of the NIL era of college sports, and it could lose a legendary coach like Kelvin Sampson because of it.

Let's hope cooler heads prevail when it comes to the direction of college athletics, because the road we are all traveling down doesn't look too promising.