Hurricane Harvey forces Cougars to shift football operations to Austin

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AUSTIN - The University of Houston is relocating its football operations to Central Texas in advance of Hurricane Harvey.



Hunter Yurachek, UH's vice president of intercollegiate athletics, said the Cougars plan use the practice facilities at the University of Texas at least through the weekend and possibly into early next week. UH is scheduled to open the season Sept. 2 at Texas-San Antonio.

"(Thursday) as it became apparent that Harvey was going to have a significant impact throughout the weekend and early into next week, we reached out to schools within the state of Texas that we have great relationships with, and inquired about the opportunity for our football program to practice and use their facilities as we are relocating outside of Houston," Yurachek said.

Yurachek said UH received offers from Baylor, SMU and TCU to use their facilities. Due to available hotel accommodations and proximity of the schools, UH opted to move to Austin.

"I called (UT athletics director ) Mike Perrin, and without hesitation Mike said ‘absolutely. We’d be glad to help. Let me run it up the chain of command here at Texas. I don’t foresee that being a problem.’ And within 10 minutes he called and said ‘we’ll make it happen.'

"Mike is a Houstonian. I think he thinks a lot about what we’re doing, and understands the importance of us working together as state schools in a time where our area is getting hit pretty hard."

UH defensive lineman Ed Oliver (10) and his teammates will be practicing in Austin after Hurricane Harvey forced them to relocate. UH defensive lineman Ed Oliver (10) and his teammates will be practicing in Austin after Hurricane Harvey forced them to relocate. Photo: UH Athletics Photo: UH Athletics Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Hurricane Harvey forces Cougars to shift football operations to Austin 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Hurricane Harvey is expected to make landfall early Saturday along the southeast Texas coast as a Category 3 hurricane with wind gusts of at least 111 miles per hour. The storm is expected to deliver torrential rain for several days, with some weather forecast projecting at least 20 inches of rain for the Houston area.



"Just keeping everybody in our thoughts and prayers," Yurachek said, "and hope that everybody is safe and does not take unnecessary risks and listens to all the advice we’re getting from the emergency management teams across the city of Houston and the state of Texas and heeds those warnings."

UH will practice Saturday and Sunday and will return to Houston as soon as possible.

"We are grateful to the University of Texas and its football program for opening their doors to us," UH coach Major Applewhite said in a statement. "We are also thankful to the other programs from across the state of Texas that offered shelter to our program during this time. We are hopeful for the best in Houston but are preparing for every situation. We ask everyone to keep the city of Houston, all affected areas across the Gulf Coast and its residents in their thoughts and prayers."