UH football head coach Dana Holgorsen on the field pregame before his team battled against Tulane in the 2020 season opener. | Courtesy of UH athletics
UH student-athletes did not have to worry about attending a practice or missing a workout on Election Day, taking the time to vote instead.
Back in August, the American Athletic Conference announced Election Day was going to be a day free of athletic activities for student-athletes in an effort to encourage them to go out and vote.
A few weeks later, UH athletes marched across campus to let their voices be heard on issues like racial tensions in the country, which also set forth many of the plans that have been put in action by the University the past few weeks.
These plans have included making TDECU Stadium an official voting location and a series of videos on social media by UH student-athletes reminding people to vote and providing information on things like how U.S. government bodies work, among other things.
Elections for statewide and local offices are also on the ballot on Tuesday. Learn more about what these positions control at the state and local level before you cast your ballot. #Vote #WeAreHouston pic.twitter.com/Jlz5pMxrCa
— Houston Athletics (@UHCougars) November 2, 2020
“(There were a) lot of heart-to-heart conversations we had with individuals (in late August),” UH football head coach Dana Holgorsen told reporters via Zoom on Tuesday. “One of the bigger things that came of it was this huge initiative to vote.”
Holgorsen said the students had been able to get the University to commit to giving them Election Day off before the AAC or NCAA made the official announcement.
UH athletics aided the athletes in various ways to get their voices heard, one of which was helping organize the march on campus that was all student-led, several coaches said at the event.
UH also brought many individuals and organizations to campus to register any student-athletes to vote, Holgorsen said.
“We encouraged them to do it,” the head coach said. “There is nothing going on in the building (except for coaches) continuing to game prep (for Cincinnati).”
Holgorsen said he even gave his assistant coaches a couple of hours off on Tuesday to be able to go vote.
“Each and every one of our players is their own person with their own opinions,” Holgorsen said. “This is their way of being able to express it with the ability to be able to vote.”
