The University of Houston men's basketball team, known as the Houston Cougars, has been a member of the Big 12 Conference since 2023. Prior to their affiliation with the Big 12, the team was part of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) from 2013 to 2023. Throughout its history in college basketball, the Cougars have made appearances in 26 NCAA tournaments as of 2025 and have achieved a record of 43-30.
The Houston men’s basketball team started in the 1945–46 season. Previously, the university already had a women’s basketball program. Alden Pasche was hired as the first head coach of the team, and he coached the team from 1945 to 1956 with an overall record of 135–116. Since then, the Houston Basketball team has had several head coaches.
Houston Basketball Head Coach 2025
Kelvin Sampson has been the head coach for the Houston Cougars men's basketball team since 2014. Prior to this role, he served as the assistant coach for the Houston Rockets basketball team in the NBA from 2011 to 2014. He joined the Houston Cougars men's basketball team on April 2, 2014.
Under Sampson's leadership, the Houston Cougars achieved their first conference tournament crown since 2010. The conference tournament win came in 2021. In the NCAA Tournament, the Cougars made history by becoming the first team ever to play four schools seeded 10 or higher. They beat Oregon State to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1984.
Kelvin Sampson was the 15th coach to have reached a Final Four again after a gap of over 10 years, as he last reached the Final Four in 2002. As of 2025, Sampson is the second-winningest coach in University of Houston history, second only to Hall of Famer Guy Lewis.
Kelvin Sampson’s Physical Attributes
| Age | 69 years (born on October 5, 1955) |
Kelvin Simpson’s Age
Kelvin Sampson is 69 years old as of March 2025.
He was born on October 5, 1955, in Laurinburg, North Carolina, United States. Sampson attended Pembroke High School in Pembroke, North Carolina, where he started playing basketball for his school team and also served as the team captain. After graduating from high school, Sampson continued his basketball journey at Pembroke State University.
Houston Basketball Head Coach Year by Year
The Houston Cougars men's basketball team was started in 1945. Over the course of its 78-season history, the team has been led by nine different head coaches.
Here is the list of Houston basketball team head coaches year by year:
| No. | Tenure | Coach | Years | Record |
| 1 | 1945–1956 | Alden Pasche | 11 | 135–116 |
| 2 | 1956–1986 | Guy Lewis | 30 | 592–279 |
| 3 | 1986–1993 | Pat Foster | 7 | 142–73 |
| 4 | 1993–1998 | Alvin Brooks | 5 | 54–84 |
| 5 | 1998–2000 | Clyde Drexler | 2 | 19–39 |
| 6 | 2000–2004 | Ray McCallum | 4 | 44–73 |
| 7 | 2004–2010 | Tom Penders | 6 | 121–77 |
| 8 | 2010–2014 | James Dickey | 4 | 64–62 |
| 9 | 2014–present | Kelvin Sampson | 11 (as of March 2025) | 297–83 (as of March 2025) |
Houston Men’s Basketball Coaching Staff 2025
Here is the list of all the coaching staff of the Houston Cougars men's basketball team as of 2025:
| Name | Title |
| Kelvin Sampson | Head Coach |
| Quannas White | Associate Head Coach |
| Kellen Sampson | Assistant Coach |
| K.C. Beard | Assistant Coach |
Associate Head Coach
Quannas White is the Associate Head Coach of the Houston Cougars men's basketball team as of March 2025. He joined the university as an assistant coach in April 2017 and was promoted to associate head coach in June 2023.
During the 2022-23 season, White played a crucial role in leading the Cougars to a 33-4 overall record and a 17-1 record in American Athletic Conference play. Before joining the Houston Cougars, Quannas White served as an assistant coach at the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team during the 2016-2017 season.
Assistant Coach
Kellen Sampson and K.C. Beard are the assistant coaches of the Houston Cougars men's basketball team as of March 2025.
K.C. Beard joined the University of Houston Men’s Basketball program as a video coordinator in May 2014. He was promoted to assistant coach in April 2021 and moved to Special Assistant to Head Coach Kelvin Sampson in May 2022. And then his role was changed to assistant coach again in 2023.
Kellen joined the University of Houston Men’s Basketball program in April 2014 as an assistant coach. He is the son of head coach Kelvin Sampson.
Houston Men’s Basketball Support Staff 2025
Here is the list of all the support staff of the Houston men’s basketball team as of 2025:
| Name | Title |
| Hollis Price | Special Assistant to the Head Coach |
| Bobby Champagne | Director of Operations & Basketball Strategy |
| Lauren Sampson | Director for Basketball Operations |
| Matthew McDonald | Video Coordinator |
| Anthony Goldwire | Director for Player Development |
| Bilal Batley | Director of Program Strategy & Player Relations |
| John Houston, MS, LAT, ATC, CES | Associate AD for Sports Medicine (MBkB, MGolf) |
| Alan Bishop | Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance |
| Will Finch | Associate Director of Operations |
| Bryan Clarke | Assistant Men's and Women's Basketball Strength Coach |
| Jonathan Loredo | Internal Operations |
| Andre Bonfiglio | Student Manager |
| Taelynn Harris | Student Manager |
| Matthew Criswell | Student Manager |
| Carson Calhoun | Student Manager |
| Brady Wilkes | Student Manager |
| Ben Still | Student Manager |
| Ciarra Merchant | Student Manager |
| Cameron Simmons | Student Manager |
| Daniela Perdomo | Student Manager |
| Trey Hill | Student Manager |
| Henry Kolassa | Student Manager |
| Kendal White | Student Manager |
| Andrew Gonzalez | Student Manager |
FAQ's on Houston Basketball Coach
A. Kelvin Sampson is the head coach of Houston Cougars men’s basketball team as of March 2025.
A. Kelvin Sampson joined the Houston basketball team on April 2, 2014 replacing the former head coach of Houston James Dickey, who joined the university in 2010 as a head coach.
A. The Houston Cougars men’s basketball team became a member of the Big 12 Conference in 2023. Previous to this, they competed in the American Athletic Conference from 2013 to 2023.
A. The Houston Cougars basketball team made 26 appearances in the NCAA tournaments as of 2025.
