HOUSTON — The University of Michigan football team and its fans are reveling in their national championship victory while the city of Houston is basking in successfully hosting the event.
Houston has added its sticker to the helmet representing all the host cities of the College Football Playoff national championship. While the city still basks in successfully hosting the event for the first time, they hope it’s not the last.
“That game yesterday that goes down as the greatest game because of who I played with and definitely Houston will be remembered forever,” Blake Corum, running back, Michigan, said.
The college football national champions call Ann Arbor, Michigan home but now call Houston the place where their dreams came true. They praised the city not just for what happened on the field but for the host's hospitality.
“We were all treated top-notch, everybody was real, real good to us and square dealing down here in Houston, and we had a great time, loved it, it’s definitely going to hold a special place in our heart going forward,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said.
Mayor John Whitmire touted the city’s ability to successfully host the event.
“What we’re so proud of are our people, the friendliness of this great city a large city cannot be found anywhere else,” the mayor said.
The next host will be Atlanta in 2025, but as Houston symbolically handed off hosting duties to Georgia’s capital city, officials said they’ve got their sights set on the future.
“As they enter into their twelve-team expansion and open up a new bid cycle moving forward, we feel very optimistic about our chances to have a college football national championship back in Houston a little sooner than 10 years,” Chris Massey, president, 2024 CFP Houston Host Committee, said. “I don’t think we need to wait a full 10 years this go around.”