Hey hey! It’s Andy Yanez! You might have noticed that I have stepped away from covering Houston Cougars athletics full-time over the past few months. I want to tell you all about it, but first, I’d like to take a moment to discuss Reggie Chaney. Beyond being a solid basketball player and teammate, Reggie was always willing to give his time to all media members, even going beyond what we could expect. He was selfless and a great guy. I’ll have more thoughts on Reggie tomorrow.
I have covered UH in some way since the fall of 2019. The only exception was my “redshirt year” from October 2021 to July ‘22, when I got my first big-time job covering the city of Pearland for Community Impact. Even then, I tried as much as possible to stay in the loop with the goal of one day returning to covering UH as a professional, this time instead of a student reporter.
Last August, Gallery Sports allowed me to live a lifetime goal—to cover a Houston basketball team full-time! I traveled on the road and explored multiple cities and towns I would have never had the opportunity to visit on my own. Oh yeah, and the entire time my job was to watch basketball games and then talk to coaches and players about it!
However, the more I did it, the more I realized it was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And, of course, there is a reason for that.
Throughout this entire time, going back to the fall of 2021, I have had an awesome chance to coach basketball. Yes, you read that right. It was at my alma mater before UH. A small charter school in Southeast Houston.
To borrow a phrase from Kelvin Sampson: I didn’t know whether I was on foot or on horseback that first year. Now entering year three, there is still so much I don’t know, but there is one thing I do for sure. I love it. I love the process. I love building relationships and being a mentor to those young kids. I was once in their shoes, and I want to help them achieve their goals just like I reached mine.
That’s why I opted to go into teaching. An English teacher, to be exact. It’s kind of fitting in many ways: When I was in high school at that same school, I had an English teacher who gave me the sports section of the Houston Chronicle every day to read. It is a big reason I knew exactly what I wanted to major in when I got to UH.
Since I began my journey in journalism, nothing has motivated me more than covering the Houston Cougars. I always wanted to carve my own path, and I wanted to shake things up!
Our postgame reaction show Let’s Rage Coogs is an example of that. A show where UH fans react to games as close to the ending of them as possible! After all, the Rockets, Astros, and Texans all have that on the radio, so why can’t UH also have a version?
I thank Da’Yon Dunlap and Kris Gardner for helping grow that vision. LRC is here to stay, and it will begin again on Sept. 2 when UH football hosts UTSA. That is one way I will stick around the world of Houston Athletics.
The other is with GoCoogs. Ryan Monceaux and I met for lunch multiple times in early 2023. He has a vision of growing the daily coverage of the Cougars and taking advantage of the amplifier the Big 12 will provide.
We both share a goal of offering an alternative regarding coverage of UH athletics. There is so much meat on the bone regarding stories, ideas, and connections revolving around UH. We want to tell those stories, which is why we have agreed on this partnership.
Throughout this upcoming season, I will write weekly columns on UH football (and, eventually, men’s basketball). I will also do some cool supplemental stuff when possible: features, profiles, interviews, etc.
Some of my content will be free, but much of it will require a subscription to GoCoogs.com. GoCoogs provides in-depth coverage you can’t get anywhere else: original reporting, scoops, profiles of players and athletes, podcasts, interviews, perspective, and analysis no one else has. When you purchase the Andy Plan, you’ll get access to all GoCoogs features, including all insider info, premium content, and a membership to GoCoogs’ private Veer forum, where die-hard fans come to talk about everything UH.
Join now and receive my special discount – 50% of your subscription price goes directly to me. Ryan has been generous because he wants GoCoogs to be the best, no matter what it takes. Help us take GoCoogs to the next level by joining today.
Thank you for letting me keep you informed and tell our alma mater’s amazing stories.
