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Tony Levine To Houston: New Head Coach Confident 'Continuity' Will Help Cougars Program

New University of Houston head coach Tony Levine met the media for the first time as the official replacement for the departed Kevin Sumlin on Thursday, a day after being promoted from interim head coach. Levine, the Cougars' special teams coordinator and a staff member since 2008, talked about the importance of consistency in staff and philosophy for UH's continued success:

"I think continuity is important," he said. "There are coaches on this staff, like myself, who have said, 'No,' to opportunities the last couple of years, and I know there are coaches on this staff that will have other opportunities moving forward."

Levine also possessing experience Sumlin didn't - as a member of Bobby Petrino's staff at Louisville in the 2000s, Levine saw firsthand what it took for a program to transition from Conference USA to the Big East and raise funds for a new stadium, two tasks ahead of the Cougars. Levine received one endorsement of merit - outgoing quarterback Case Keenum:

"It's all been seamless, from coach Sumlin to coach Levine becoming the interim and now to this," Keenum said. "It's going to be seamless, and I think that's what a big-time program is able to do. Everybody handled the situation with class, in a first-class way, and I think that says something about the people we have here. It's a first-class program, this is how things should be done, and it's exciting because I think it says a lot about where we're headed."

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