Sep 18, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Dana Holgorsen during the first half against the Grambling State Tigers at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Houston Cougars football coach Dana Holgorsen explains why spring game was canceled
Houston Cougars football fans were disappointed when the team canceled its spring game last Friday.
With the program a few months away from making the jump into the Big 12 Conference, the spring game would have offered the first opportunity for the public to get a look at how the roster is shaping up. Houston Cougars football had to move everything indoors due to inclement weather on Friday.
“We didn’t cancel practice because if we would have canceled practice, we wouldn’t have been able to get it back,” head coach Dana Holgorsen said Monday. “The only way we could get [practice No. 15] in is being able to have practiced that Friday night, which means we had to go inside. The weather was horrible.”
Holgorsen said they were still able to host recruits at their indoor facility for what became a closed practice, but due to the lack of space indoors, they could not open it to the general public.
“I hated to have to do that,” Holgorsen said. “We wanted an open practice. We wanted the fans to come, the public to come. Just weather and rules man. Can’t do anything about it.”
Football programs can conduct 15 spring practices over the course of a 34-day window with 20 hours per week of unrestricted activities and must include at least one off day per week, according to the NCAA. Houston football began its spring sessions on Feb. 28.
While fans missed out on seeing the team on April 7, Holgorsen said the program is planning to host an open practice and a fan day for autographs at some point in August. By then, Houston’s roster for the 2023 season will be 100% set as opposed to the 60% it is now, the head coach added.
The Cougars are still looking to solidify final roster spots via the transfer portal and will have all high school signees join by June 1. The spring window for the transfer portal opens back up on April 15.
“We will do something in August and get that out on social media to where we can showcase what the 2023 Cougar football team is going to be,” Holgorsen said.
