UH expands student section, changes tailgating rules ahead of 2026 football season

Houston football’s 2026 season is less than five weeks away, and on Aug. 6, the university made some changes to fill seats and enhance the gameday experience, sparking student discussion.

For starters, the university has added sections 132 and 133 to the student section, increasing the number of students in the lower bowl to more than 4,500, up from 2,500. 

The Spirit of Houston will move to section 137 in the east end zone to “enhance their ability to perform and be heard by more fans,” while also improving their visibility and increasing audio transparency, according to a statement by UH Athletics.

“Our students are the backbone of campus and make our game day atmospheres special,” athletic director Eddie Nuñez said. “This change celebrates our students’ efforts and recognizes their enthusiasm by providing them even more prime viewing experiences.”

Student tickets will remain free of charge for the season.

“I think the expanded student section is a great idea to encourage more students to attend games,” media production junior Wyatt Chastain said.

Others have been skeptical, arguing that the university should focus more on filling the student seats it already has. 

“Why are we expanding if we can barely fill up what we have?” alumni Alexander Hernandez said.

In addition to the expanded student section, student tailgating will end 30 minutes before kickoff. The change, made in coordination with Student Affairs and the Student Government Association, is intended to give students enough time to enter the expanded section and has received mixed reactions. 

 “I believe the student sections are the livelihood of college sports. However, I do not know how the student body will react to this,” digital media junior Joseph Mosbey said. “It’s a big gamble that I believe has the chance to revive the crowd at TDECU during games or turn a big population of the students away. One thing is for sure, I do think this will prevent a ton of the free tickets from being wasted on people not wanting to step into the stadium.”

While some see the pros and cons of this idea, others believe it’s too valuable to the gameday experience to end it that early.

“I’m personally not affected by it, but I know a lot of people are not gonna like it,” media production junior Ben Skow said. “Plus 30 minutes before the game starts is a little too early to end the tailgates.”

“Tailgates contribute to game-day culture as well, and ending them 30 minutes early could frustrate people more than it inspires them to get fired up for the game,” journalism senior Cullen Avent added.

Houston is looking to boost attendance numbers from last year, when they finished last among all Big 12 teams via D1.ticker.