UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin recently made a sarcastic donation towards Houston Cougars tactician Kelvin Sampson, who ranted about his program’s funding. On Monday, Feb. 16, @sbecollegehoops on Instagram uploaded a photo of Cronin and Sampson, along with a caption that quoted Sampson’s recent interview.
Sampson revealed that Cronin recently Venmoed him a dollar after the former called out his program’s higher-ups. During a post-game press conference earlier this month, Sampson made headlines by talking bluntly about his program and its overall funding.
“Kelvin Sampson reveals that after his comments about Houston’s athletic department last week, Mick Cronin Venmo’d him $1: ‘He said yo man, I heard your presser. I’d like to help, so here’s one dollar’ 😂 (@sportsbetexpert),” @sbecollegehoops on Instagram captioned with a laughing emoji.
For now, both Sampson and Cronin are looking to make it into the 2026 NCAA tournament and uncork deep runs. But acts like these serve as evidence that both coaches keep it light with each other despite being competitors. In the 2025-26 college basketball season, Sampson and the Cougars are looking to return to the national championship game, while the Bruins are aiming to improve on their current 17-8 (9-5 Big Ten) overall record.
Kelvin Sampson Believes That His Program’s Athletic Department Has Poor Funding
Mick Cronin’s hilarious gesture to Kelvin Sampson, which was taken lightly and all in good spirits, stems from Sampson’s viral rant earlier in February of this year about his program’s funding.
Sampson believes the Houston Cougars athletic department’s funding is too low to stay competitive in constantly bringing in good players. This was highlighted in an article written by Riley Gates on On3 on Feb. 5.
“We participate in the NIL, just like everybody else. We know what our kids’ market value is. Trust me, they’re not starving here. They’re getting exactly what the market is for them. But, you know, we have a very poor athletic department. We’re poor. You know, we were poor when I got here, and we’re still poor. We probably have the lowest budget of anybody in Power Four, you know?” Sampson was quoted as saying.
“And, you know, the way our recruiting is going, we have to stop at some point, because we don’t have enough money to keep bringing in many good players. That’s not easy for us to do,” he continued.
Read More: “It’s a Shame”: Mick Cronin’s Frustrations Reach Boiling Point as CBB Mirrors MLB
Also Read: Ramon Walker Injury: Kelvin Sampson Shares Key Update on Houston Guard
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