Note: This story is featured in the 2026 edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football's Summer Magazine, which you can order here.

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There is a cautious optimism permeating out of Huntsville, Texas, as Phil Longo enters Year 2 as the head coach at Sam Houston.  

For one, the Bearkats get to perform on campus at a renovated Bowers Stadium in 2026 after playing what amounted to 12 road games last year. The team traveled 18,674 miles, including a combined 840 roundtrip miles for six “home” games at Shell Energy Stadium in South Houston. The only teams that earned more frequent flier miles than the Bearkats were Hawaii and Stanford.  

“The cumulative grind of last year was real,” Longo admitted. “We didn’t have any off-field issues and the morale within the team was good and that’s a credit to the coaching staff and players, but it was a tough season. It just wears on you to always be on the road and never get to celebrate a touchdown with people cheering for you. It subdued us.” 

There are dozens of players on the Sam Houston roster who’ve been on the team for nearly 18 months and haven’t played a game on campus. The leading tackler on last year’s team – Antavious Fish – signed with the Bearkats last spring, played in all 12 games, and has graduated and left the program without ever playing in front of a Sam Houston home crowd. And that was true for many of the 2025 portal additions.  

Playing in front of a home crowd on campus is a luxury most college athletes take for granted. Not the players at Sam Houston. Their eyes light up when asked about making their debuts at Bowers Stadium.  

“I couldn’t be more excited and I think I speak for the team on that,” said starting quarterback Landyn Locke, who is one of the players who has yet to play a true home game as a Bearkat. “We’re out here practicing three times a week and working out every day so we get to see the progress on the stadium. A lot of guys on this team have been here for over a year and never played in front of a true home crowd. We’re excited for the atmosphere and to get that true gameday experience.” 

Another reason to believe that Sam Houston can compete for a bowl bid in 2026 after finishing 2-10 last season is money. Sam Houston spent over $80 million dollars since 2021 to move up to the FBS and renovate Bowers Stadium, and that left virtually no money for revenue sharing or NIL last season. Longo says that his Bearkats are much more competitive in the Conference USA spending landscape and that equated to a much better portal haul this offseason.  

“We are much more competitive this year,” Longo said of his roster budget. Are we where we want to be or need to be? No. But we’re much more competitive budget-wise in the Group of Six than we were last year. Anything would be better than nothing, and for our conference, it is a competitive budget.”  

Continuity is another cause for celebration. Sam Houston is one of only two FBS programs in Texas that returns its head coach, all three coordinators, and its starting quarterback. The other is Willie Fritz’s Houston squad. The Bearkats only lost one member of its coaching staff from last season.  

Longo was forced to replace 58 scholarship players going into 2025 and only had 54 players on the roster in the spring, adding 36 players in the summer. They were behind the eight-ball because of how late Longo was hired. This year, his team returns 40-plus players, including quarterback Landyn Locke, and the portal haul is improved because the staff had time to prepare for it and the revenue sharing money has increased. The elevated talent level was easy to spot in the spring and the expectations have grown.  

“I whole-heartedly believe we can compete in Conference USA,” defensive back Jace Arnold said. “It’s going to be a really good season, way better than last year.”