Tilman Fertitta Stepping Back to Become Donald Trump’s Ambassador to Italy Would Work For Houston Because of the Great Shape the Billionaire’s Put the Rockets, UH In

Update: Donald Trump officially nominated Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta to be the U.S. Ambassador to Italy on Saturday, praising Fertitta’s business success and “his long history of giving back to the community.”

With the buzz of Houston proud billionaire Tilman Fertitta being tabbed as Donald Trump’s preferred choice to be the new U.S. Ambassador to Italy (as first reported by a CBS News Washington insider) in the air at the aptly named Fertitta Center on Tuesday night, UH basketball coach Kelvin Sampson couldn’t help but embrace the moment. “The Italians are in for a treat,” Sampson says with a big grin, talking to two reporters in the hallway after his formal press conference on basketball.

When New York Jets owner Woody Johnson accepted a U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom nod from Trump during the incoming president’s first term in the White House, he had to step away from the NFL team and have his brother run the Jets for several years. (These ambassadorships are on-site, in the foreign country roles.) Fertitta would likely need to do the same with the Houston Rockets, the NBA team he owns. But unlike with the Jets, whose fans are still lamenting how those years under Christopher Johnson set the franchise back, Tilman has set the Rockets up to succeed even if he does end up spending most of the next three and half years or so tending to the United States’ interests in Europe.

The Houston mega tycoon has had his son Patrick Fertitta heavily involved with running the Rockets almost from the moment he dropped $2.2 billion to purchase the NBA franchise back in 2017. Patrick Fertitta’s had years and years of being at his father’s side to see how one of the best business minds in America approaches things — and time to develop his own style. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone and coach Ime Udoka are also both very used to and comfortable dealing with Patrick Fertitta on the day to day operations of the franchise.

That’s the kind of situation and clear continuity the Jets never had when Woody departed for England on his own ambassadorship. Plus these Rockets are now on the rise and just about there after Tilman stayed patient through some rebuild years post James Harden. Udoka’s deep and unique team is a win over the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night at Toyota Center from getting to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas, which would be the biggest stage the franchise has been on since the 2020 playoffs.

The Rockets have not been in this strong of a position for a good while. You could say the same about the University of Houston, though there is plenty of hope on campus that Fertitta could essentially still be the UH Chairman of the Board of Regents while serving as a U.S. Ambassador.

“I don’t care if you put him in the Arctic Circle, he’s still going to be our Chairman of the Board of Regents,” Kelvin Sampson says. “I love Tilman.”

Either way, UH athletics should be already set up for success, in no small part because of what Fertitta’s done both behind and in front of the scenes working with Renu Khator. Sampson’s basketball program is clearly one of the 10 best in the entire country and its next coach in waiting (Kellen Sampson) is already sitting at his dad’s side every game, a rising star of his own right. A new football coach that Fertitta and (more importantly seemingly Texas recruits) believe in will be going into his second season this fall in Willie Fritz. The Fertitta Center is one of the best on-campus basketball arenas in the country and the new $140 million football operations center is rapidly rising. New first year athletic director Eddie Nuñez is on the job after being hand picked by Khator and Fertitta (as first reported by PaperCity). And of course, UH is well into its second year in the Power 4 Big 12 conference because Tilman Fertitta refused to let his school be left out again.

“I don’t care if you put him in the Arctic Circle, he’s still going to be our Chairman of the Board of Regents. I love Tilman.” — UH coach Kelvin Sampson on Tilman Fertitta

 A Roman Job

There are plenty of unique challenges coming in college athletics (including how the new paying athletes settlement will work in reality and the only increasing Name, Image and Likeness needs). But the University of Houston is ranked one of the Top 50 Public Universities in America and it boasts its own medical school (also named after Tilman Fertitta for his contributions to making it happen). The cupboard is hardly bare.

The 69-year-old Sampson, who may be one of the few guys as driven as the 67-year-old Fertitta, is also someone who always shows gratitude. To anyone who’s earned his — and Tilman Fertitta definitely has. And then some.

“Tilman Fertitta. That $20 million (donated by Tilman to kick start The Fertitta Center arena) allowed our dream to stay afloat,” Sampson says. “It didn’t sink. And without him, I don’t know where we’d be.”

As for the idea of U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta? And this Houston billionaire embracing the Il Risveglio morning rituals while living at the 15th century Villa Taverna in Rome?

“If he wants to do it, good for him,” Sampson says.