Houston tabs Tulane's Willie Fritz as new coach

Field Level Media|published: 12/03/2023, 11:57am EST

Dec 2, 2023; New Orleans, LA, USA; Tulane Green Wave head coach Willie Fritz reacts to a pass interference call on Tulane Green Wave against the Southern Methodist Mustangs during the second half at Yulman Stadium. credits: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Houston hired Tulane's Willie Fritz on Sunday to become the school's 16th head football coach.

Fritz, 63, captured his second straight American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Green Wave to their second consecutive conference championship game appearance.

"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. "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."

Tulane is 11-2 this season and 23-4 over the past two campaigns. A season ago, it defeated Southern California 46-45 in the Cotton Bowl to finish No. 9 in the nation.

Fritz is 54-47 in eight seasons at Tulane. He also coached NJCAA program Blinn College (1993-96), Division II Central Missouri (1997-2009), FCS program Sam Houston (2010-13) and Georgia Southern (2014-15) and has a 247-121-1 overall record.

"No one in the country has been better at leading and developing student-athletes than Willie Fritz," said Chris Pezman, Houston athletic director. "Over his more than three decades of head coaching experience, he has guided several football programs to historic success."

The Cougars fired Dana Holgorsen after a 4-8 season. Holgorsen went 31-28 over five seasons.

—Field Level Media