Following the conclusion of the 2011 regular football season , the Big East Conference invited Houston to become a full member . ( By the time Houston joined in 2013 , the conference had split in two along football lines , with Houston joining the football-sponsoring legal successor now known as the American Athletic Conference . ) During the University of Houston 's official announcement of its acceptance to the athletic conference on December 9 , 2011 , Chairwoman of the University of Houston System Board of Regents Nelda Luce Blair announced that the university would issue a request for qualifications ( RFQ ) to the public in order to obtain new architectural plans . She also noted that ground-breaking was expected to occur in October 2012
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
TDECU Stadium