Sam Houston already has more wins (four) than it did all of last season, its first in the FBS. A dive into how the Bearkats, the FCS national champions from the 2020 season, which was pushed into the spring of 2021, are winning with a Moneyball-like approach.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Sam Houston linebacker Trey Fields knows a comeback when he sees one. Three years ago, in the FCS semifinals, the Bearkats rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit to defeat James Madison, later clinching the national championship.
So, when the Bearkats found themselves down 22-0 against rival Texas State last Saturday, Fields was confident his team would stay composed.
Three hours later, head coach K.C. Keeler celebrated a thrilling 40-39 victory at NRG Stadium, marking the largest comeback in school history. With a 4-1 record, the Bearkats have already surpassed last year’s total of three wins in their inaugural FBS season.
“We’re gritty,” Fields stated. “We’re gritty.”
Fields, a senior linebacker hailing from Danciger, Texas—a small town southeast of Houston—didn’t receive any FBS offers after high school. However, he has a national championship ring and the determined mindset that helped lead the Bearkats to victory.
Keeler established his program with a philosophy of toughness: “This is a game for grown men. We fight hard, but once it’s over, we shake hands out of respect.”
In Huntsville, ego-checking is mandatory. If you come with one, you won’t fit in. The program retains the same mentality it had during its FCS championship run, functioning very much like an FCS team.
The shift to FBS was sudden, triggered by the realignment caused by Texas and Oklahoma, which opened doors for schools like Sam Houston to elevate sooner than anticipated.
The move was practical for Sam Houston, but it came with financial challenges. The school reported the lowest revenue in Conference-USA at $ 23.6 million in 2023, according to the Knight Commission.
That financial situation poses challenges in the current era of college sports, with NIL deals. Keeler remarked, “We likely have the least NIL money in the country right now.”
While some institutions operate with budgets in the millions, Sam Houston is working with tens of thousands.
Yet here they stand at 4-1, with wins over Rice (an AAC school), Texas State (a potential Sun Belt contender), and New Mexico State (last season’s Conference USA runner-up). They’ll look to build on this momentum with a Thursday night game at UTEP, airing at 9 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
“We’re constructed in a unique way,” Keeler noted.
His general manager, Clayton Barnes, added, “Every nickel and dime matters. Everything counts.”
Willie Fritz had a record of 40-15 at Sam Houston from 2010 to 2013, leading the Bearkats to two FCS runner-up finishes. After he departed for Georgia Southern, the leadership at Sam Houston managed an unusual accomplishment: they replaced a highly successful coach with an even more accomplished one.
Keeler’s office is minimally decorated, with most of the pictures on the floor rather than displayed on the walls. However, at the forefront of his black desk sits a collection of championship rings and a national championship trophy.
Keeler received the AFCA Coach of the Year award in 2010 and the Eddie Robinson Award in 2016. He is the only coach in FCS history to have won national championships with two different programs—Delaware in 2003, where he coached Joe Flacco, and Sam Houston in 2020. With 25 FCS playoff wins, he holds the record for the most in history.
As Keeler, now 65, puts it: “Winning won’t keep me in this game, but losing will push me out.”
Losses affect him deeply. He recalls returning home after another close defeat last season—where the Bearkats lost eight of nine games by 14 points or less, including an 0-5 start—to hear his wife, Janice, say, “You seem OK.” Their 39 years of marriage says a lot. She was correct; Keeler had just left the weight room thinking, “Our guys are performing well. They support each other. They will get through this.”
He realized adjustments needed to be made to facilitate improvement. At the FCS level, he felt his roster was superior in nine of their 12 games each season, needing to win three when the talent was evenly matched. At the FBS level, he noted, every game is a toss-up.
“The margin of error is just so much slimmer,” Keeler explained.
To address these margins, Sam Houston made several strategic changes. Keeler noted that the team struggled with the short weeks common in Conference USA, so he implemented night practices during those times to allow for more study before practice. He also identified that excessive retaliation penalties were hurting the team, and the coaching staff emphasized discipline, leading to a current ranking of eighth nationally in penalties per game.
Last season, the players at Sam Houston weren’t consistently fed daily. Larger schools provide abundant meals that are carefully labeled for different dietary needs, while players at Sam Houston often left campus hungry. Keeler approached the boosters for support, and they responded.
Now, Bearkat players receive at least one meal each day, and they’ve swapped post-workout chocolate milk for protein shakes.
“We couldn’t just say, ‘It’s all fine,'” Keeler noted. “We went 3-9.”
The transformation of Sam Houston from a C-USA bottom dweller to a potential conference contender largely revolves around depth, especially concerning their second-year FBS roster.
Last year, injuries plagued the team, which lacked the depth necessary to absorb those losses after moving from a roster with partial scholarship players to needing a full roster of 85 capable scholarship players the following year. This situation has quickly improved.
Through four games, 21 players on both offense and defense have logged at least 49 snaps each. While some of this is due to injuries and game situations, having 42 players regularly contributing is noteworthy.
In comparison, Liberty, the reigning C-USA champions with the highest budget in the conference, has had 36 players with similar playing time. Texas State, known for its high tempo, has fielded 37 players, while Georgia, a program with abundant talent, has had only 32 players seeing that level of action. This highlights a concern voiced by Georgia’s Kirby Smart earlier this offseason:
“I feel like we have less depth than we’ve ever had,” Smart stated. “This is a common theme I hear from other coaches. I call it the deterioration of football, as each year, our capability to have players who can compete at a winning level diminishes.”
Smart attributes this issue to the transfer portal, which strains overall depth as players feel they can start elsewhere.
Sam Houston, however, doesn’t face this problem; only one starter from the previous year transferred to another FBS school. As Keeler remarked, “It starts with retention.”
Sam Houston still has 10 players on its roster with rings from the 2020 national championship season, and the Bearkats have employed some innovative strategies to maintain this talent. Before moving up to FBS, they redshirted about 20 of their top players, allowing them to participate in four games—specifically, the final Battle of Piney Woods against Stephen F. Austin and a game against Texas A&M—but keeping them eligible to compete in Conference USA in 2023 and, in some cases, 2024.
Sam Houston’s NIL funding is not directed towards transfers. Keeler recalls a conversation with three transfer recruits when the portal opened last winter. They wanted to negotiate financial support, but he told them, “You’re at the wrong place.” Instead, the limited NIL funds available are allocated to team leaders who meet certain academic and social standards.
In Keeler’s view, this approach promotes a healthier locker room culture. A program grounded in grit won’t succeed by offering financial incentives to transfers who don’t embody the team’s values.
“The guys know who’s receiving money,” Barnes explained. “If you suddenly invest heavily in one or two individuals, others might start questioning, ‘Why is he being paid if he’s not producing?’ This concern is mitigated when compensation is more evenly distributed.”
The core of Sam Houston’s roster relies heavily on high school recruiting, particularly within Texas. In the last two years, all but one high school signee hails from Texas, and most players are from within a three-hour drive from the campus, located about an hour north of Houston. This accessibility allows families to watch their sons, nephews, and grandsons compete regularly.
Sam Houston is also experiencing an uptick in recruitment quality. While the FBS transition plays a role, Keeler believes the Bearkats are attracting higher-caliber high school players as larger schools become increasingly focused on the transfer portal.
“Everyone is taking the easy route,” Keeler noted. “There’s less focus on developing players and integrating them into the program’s fabric.”
However, in the current college football landscape of 2024, unless you’re a coach like Dabo Swinney, looking to the transfer portal for value is essential. Sam Houston has become highly efficient with its portal strategy.
Starting running back Jay Ducker was named MAC Freshman of the Year in 2021 at Northern Illinois after rushing for 1,184 yards. After transferring to Memphis, he found himself lost in the lineup, which affected his value. Still, the Bearkats recognized his potential. Now, he is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and leads the team with four touchdowns.
Starting safety Isaiah Cash joined the team late, arriving on July 29 after a Power Five school unexpectedly dropped him. The Bearkats anticipated this and quickly seized the opportunity to add him to the roster. Now, he leads the team with five passes defended.
Sam Houston is resourceful, too. They recognized the need for an upgrade at quarterback this season, so they thoroughly explored the transfer market, including junior colleges. Barnes noticed Hunter Watson playing at Iowa Western Community College and believed he had potential, even with only a few D-II offers. Keeler concurred, leading the Bearkats to recruit a quarterback who might have otherwise landed at Northwestern Missouri State or UT Permian Basin.
Watson is now the starting quarterback for the 4-1 FBS program and also leads the team in rushing.
The culture-first approach in Huntsville allows players to have a say when it comes to recruits. If leaders feel a visiting prospect isn’t a good fit, they can veto the recruitment process. This happened once last year, resulting in the Bearkats withdrawing from pursuing that player.
“We evaluate a lot of players and are very selective about who we bring in,” Keeler said. “We’re uniquely constructed.”
The Bearkats are also creatively piecing together NIL funds.
They do not have a large external collective; nearly all funds are raised in-house. They employ creative strategies for stipends and awards permitted under NCAA rules, with funding generated through events like auctions for fans. Barnes organized a summer event featuring 25 sought-after items, including all-access passes to away games, raising a few thousand dollars to support player retention.
“We’re looking for ways to engage people that don’t necessarily cost money,” Barnes explained.
Occasionally, it’s things beyond football that keep the players satisfied. Linebacker Sincere Jackson, a high-achieving communications student and California native, received assistance from Keeler in securing an internship in Los Angeles with Sam Houston alumnus and prominent Hollywood producer James Lopez.
“The players understand that this staff cares about them beyond just their performance on the field,” Keeler said.
Sam Houston is aware that their strength doesn’t solely rely on star players, though they have had them in the past. It’s all about grit. The Bearkats feel they identified the bottom 10% of their roster last year and replaced those players with individuals who could be among the top 10%.
This depth enables Sam Houston to rotate six safeties and have a strong offensive line, ensuring they remain fresh throughout games, such as during their recent match against the high-tempo Texas State.
“We have many players who can shine on any given day,” Keeler noted. “We’re not dependent on just one or two individuals. A lot of players are capable of stepping up at any position. This keeps our guys healthy and allows us to maintain freshness as the game progresses.”
The Bearkats are still a developing FBS program and are striving to enhance their fundraising efforts. This August, Sam Houston installed a new field at Bowers Stadium and is currently undergoing a $ 60 million stadium renovation.
For the moment, the Bearkats are proud to embody their grit.
“I don’t think that’s ever been an issue here,” Watson said. “You give it your all and make the most of what you’ve got.”
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