Houston Athletic Director Search Down to a Final Two — UH Leadership Deciding Between Eddie Nunez and Ryan Alpert

The University of Houston athletic director search is down to a final two with New Mexico athletic director Eddie Nunez and Tennessee deputy athletics director of championship resources/chief revenue officer Ryan Alpert the only two still in contention, a source close to the UH decision makers tells PaperCity. UH chancellor Renu Khator and Board of Regents chairman Tilman Fertitta want to have the AD decision made by next week with a Board of Regents meeting already scheduled for the week at Fertitta’s Post Oak Hotel, sources say.

The source close to UH leadership tells PaperCity that there was a final five that is now down to Nunez and Alpert. While a long roll call of names and “candidates” have been thrown out by other media outlets — including former West Virginia AD and longtime sports executive Oliver Luck, who never was involved in this search — the source close to UH’s decision makers say many of those names were never under consideration.

“Two (of the so-called candidates) I’ve never heard of,” the source clarifies. “And one we’re not interviewing.”

Eddie Nunez and Ryan Alpert both bring strong credentials to the table in this final two. Nunez’s helped power New Mexico to success in a wide range of sports, something the University of Houston has struggled to achieve, with 22 conference titles during his tenure. Nunez also brings Power 5 SEC experience from a long run at LSU, with $400 million of facility renovations and construction done there under his department. A former basketball player at Florida under Billy Donovan, Nunez hired Richard Pitino as New Mexico’s hoops coach and is said to have a strong appreciation for basketball and its demands, something that is essential at UH with Kelvin Sampson’s program serving as a national beacon for the entire university.

Alpert is a proven difference maker on the financial side of athletics, something UH identified early as a key trait for any replacement for Chris Pezman, who was fired by Houston on June 20. As the University of Tennessee athletics CRO, Alpert oversaw a$337 million renovation of Neyland Stadium. He’s also led the planning on the innovative Neyland Entertainment District, a public-private partnership that aims to transform the area near Tennessee’s football stadium into a restaurant, shopping and entertainment district that will keep the area vibrant throughout the year.

It is no coincidence that both Nunez and Alpert bring SEC experience to the table.

Besides its hard-earned major power conference status (with Fertitta playing a huge role in making sure Houston got into the Big 12), the UH athletic director job is a highly attractive opening for a number of reasons. One of the best basketball programs in the entire country is already in place and rolling under Kelvin Sampson, with a clear continuation succession plan setup with UH assistant coach Kellen Sampson. New football coach Willie Fritz is already building enthusiasm with a major overhaul of that program. And all the resources and  advantages of being in Houston, the fourth largest city in America, are available for the new athletic director to take advantage of.

The job does come with some serious challenges, including the fact that Houston will not get a full share of the Big 12 revenue until 2025-26, and is not currently spending at the level of its conference competitors, which threatens to create a competition divide. The next Houston athletic director will help determine whether UH can keep up.

Now with football season almost here, who that new leader will be is taking shape with this final two.