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"Walking in here this morning, you look up and see your logo up there with all those other schools, and it hits you," Houston Athletics Director Chris Pezman explained to ABC13 on Wednesday.
"The scale of what this is - it's a spectacle," Pezman added. "It's like the circus. For our kids to get up here and see the visibility that being in the Big 12 will afford them and afford our university, it's exciting."
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In a move, which became official July 1, UH joined 13 other schools to form the new-look Big 12. The conference shift has been long-awaited by Coogs fans, and the league appears to have been anxiously awaiting landing UH and all that comes with the school and the city.
SEE ALSO: UH Big 12 schedule 2023: Houston Cougars host national championship runners-up TCU, Texas Longhorns
"Obviously, football drives the day, but I love their basketball program," Brett Yormark, Big 12 commissioner, told reporters Wednesday about bringing UH into the conference. "They're one of the top programs in America, and football is very strong, too. We're excited about their entry into the conference. Excited to be in a market like Houston. It's vibrant. It's young. It's top 10. Delivers a lot of households. We're really excited about it."
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SEE ALSO: 'A historic and proud moment': University of Houston officially joins Big 12 Conference
'A historic and proud moment': University of Houston officially joins Big 12 Conference