University of Houston needs large attendance to stay in Division 1A

06:58 PM CST on Friday, November 19, 2004

By Butch Alsandor / 11 News

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The University of Houston hopes to get nearly 18,000 people to attend the game against eight-ranked Louisville Saturday.

They need to have that many people attend the game to stay in compliance with a new NCAA rule that requires all Division 1A schools average at least 15,000 in actual attendance for home games.

"We want to make sure that we do this this year because we don't want to go into next year and have this hanging over our head," says U of H Athletic Director Dave Maggard, "If you're out of compliance two out of ten years, then you have a compliance problem in terms of being bowl-eligible. We want to make sure that we're not facing anything like that."

Head coach Art Briles encourages fans to attend the game Saturday. "We really need people out there on Saturday, regardless of what the weather is. We need to have people coming through there to keep the University of Houston where it belongs," he says.

Hitting the mark will rely heavily on student participation. Throughout the season, signs all over the campus have offered free tickets to students.

Strong attendance and quality opponents may get the Cougars the attendance they need to stay in the game.