Robert Deutsch

Houston Makes Decision on Coach Kelvin Sampson's Future Wednesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Spencer Ostrow | Last updated May 21, 2025 12:27 PM ET

Despite falling to the Florida Gators in the national championship, the Houston Cougars had a season to remember. They finished 35-5, won the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles, and reached their second Final Four under head coach Kelvin Sampson.

Sampson, 69, recently completed his 11th season at Houston. Before his arrival, the Cougars had struggled to remain nationally relevant. While the program had made five Final Four appearances, the most recent came back in 1984.

Sampson took over ahead of the 2014–15 college basketball season after serving as an assistant with the Houston Rockets.

Since then, he’s completely revitalized the Cougars program. In addition to his two Final Four runs (2021 and 2025), Houston has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, reached six Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights, and captured three Big 12 regular season titles and six Big 12 Tournament championships.

After all his success, Houston wanted to reward him with an extension. On Wednesday, the Cougars announced the news.

"Kelvin Sampson has agreed to a new deal & will be a Houston Cougar through 2028-29," the program's social media team posted.

@CoachSampsonUH has agreed to a new deal & will be a @UHouston Cougar through 2028-29

First things first...
Who's ready for 2025-26?#ForTheCity #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/cb9skHZroj
— Houston Men's Hoops (@UHCougarMBK) May 21, 2025

Sampson is one of the best coaches in the country. His career head coaching record is 724-311. Prior to his time with the Rockets, he was a head coach at Washington State, Oklahoma and Indiana.

The deepest run he made with one of those three was in 2002 with Oklahoma, when he reached the Final Four — ironically falling to Indiana.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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