Kelvin Sampson - Building and Practicing Toughness

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Kelvin Sampson - University of Houston

Former Houston Rockets coach and longtime college veteran Kelvin Sampson joined the University of Houston Men’s Basketball program as its head coach in April 2014.   As a 33-year head coaching veteran at Houston, Indiana, Oklahoma, Washington State and Montana Tech, Sampson has compiled a 699-340 record during his career with 17 NCAA Tournament appearances. He is one of only 15 coaches in NCAA history to lead 4+ schools to the NCAA Tournament and one of only 16 coaches to lead multiple schools to the NCAA Final Four.   In his career, he has been named a National Coach of the Year six times. Sampson has received six conference Coach of the Year awards from four different leagues and guided every program he has led to multiple 20-win seasons during his stints.   In eight seasons at Houston, Sampson has led the Cougars to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances – including the 2021 NCAA Final Four – and five American Athletic Conference titles and stands the only coach in school history to lead the Houston to seven straight 20-win seasons. He became the second-winningest coach in program history during the 2020-21 season and already ranks as the school’s career leader with a .740 winning percentage.   In the classroom, numerous student-athletes have received their bachelor’s degrees with one earning his master’s degree under Sampson’s leadership at Houston.   In the community, the Cougars have been active, passing out Thanksgiving lunches to Star of Hope Mission residents and leading a Texas Special Olympics event inside Hofheinz Pavilion and the Guy V. Lewis Development Facility.