After weeks of speculation following the firing of former Houston Cougars head coach Dana Holgorsen, Houston formalized the hiring of Tulane's Willie Fritz on Sunday morning.
Fritz compiled a 54-47 record in eight years as the head coach of the Green Wave. Fritz had a 23-4 record with Tulane over the last two years, including an AAC title win and a Cotton Bowl win over USC in the Cotton Bowl in the 2022 season. Tulane lost to SMU in the 2023 AAC Championship game on Saturday night.
"I am truly humbled and honored to join the University of Houston family and to be a part of the strong athletics tradition at UH," Fritz said in a statement released by Houston on Sunday. "There is no ceiling for success, with the incredible fan support, excellent facilities, talented young men and a collective desire to compete for championships. We will build a program that all Coogs can be proud of and I cannot wait to see the results."
Houston AD Chris Pezman echoed the excitement.
"No one in the country has been better at leading and developing student-athletes than Willie Fritz," Pezman said. "Over his more than three-decades of head coaching experience, he has guided several football programs to historic success. We're excited to welcome Willie, his wife, Susan, and their entire family, to Cougar Nation and look forward to putting our full support behind Coach Fritz as we look to take the next steps in the Big 12 Conference."
Tulane issued a statement through the university's President Michael Fitts in response to Fritz informing them of his departure.
"We wish Coach Fritz every success in the future and will always be grateful for the legacy he built at Tulane and his contributions to our student-athletes' lives...We are pleased to announce that Slade Nagle has been appointed interim head coach of Green Wave football and will lead our team in our bowl matchup."
The Green Wave have yet to learn their bowl matchup to end the 2023 season.
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