UH gave Eyewitness Sports a detailed look at the beautiful new Memorial Hermann Football Operations Center.
T.J. Meagher, Senior Athletics Director for Facilities, oversaw the construction of the $130 million facility that was finished ahead of schedule and on budget with two things in mind: the student athlete and efficiency.
When the players come off the field, the facility is their first stop.
There's a new mud room where they take off their shoulder pads, helmets, cleats, and gloves before they go into the locker room.
Meagher said they want the locker room to be recruit-ready 24/7. From the mud room, the players go through what's called a "car wash" to start the recovery process.
"The car wash gets all the grass, dirt, and the black pellets from the synthetic field," Meagher said. "It cleans them off, then they come through and they go right into the cold pool."
The student-athletes get into the 45-degree cold pool to lower body temps and assist in muscle recovery. After the pool and showers, they enter the locker room.
"Operating two different lockers is not very efficient," Meagher said. "That's what we did for about ten years until we were able to do this upgrade."
It's a beautiful, clean layer with LED screens above each locker displaying your favorite cougar.
"So now this is their 24 seven 365 locker room, and it brings a lot of efficiency. And we could invest more in this experience for our student athletes," Meagher said.
Then, the academic lounge, located before the position meeting rooms, will host the postgame press conferences on game days.
The auditorium or team room has 156 seats and is especially designed for Coach Fritz to give the team winning game plans each week.
The student-athletes also have access to a beautiful new weight room with double-sided racks.
"Coach Lester's approach to things, I think, he brought a really good view of what we did. Very proud of the result," Meagher said.
The walls are covered to show the love not only for the university, but also for the city of Houston.
Cougar greats can be seen on the wall, walking by the Yoakum to the suites in the VIP dining area. On game day, and non-game days, the players' have a new cafeteria where they'll eat every day.
Finally, we went up one more level to the Queenie Party Patio Concessions merch and a bird's eye view of the field. The new football operations center is a state-of-the-art building with close proximity to all other football facilities, which is rare.
"I think that the response of our student athletes says it all," AD Eddie Nunez said. "That to me is all I need to know when our coaches and our student athletes, when they have the response, when I see them every day maximizing everything they do around the facility, getting around, taking advantage of what's in place, that makes it all worth it."