Taste of the NFL

NFL picks UH for gigantic Super Bowl foodie fundraiser with pricey admission

Houstonians are starting to get a sense of the extent to which the Super Bowl will dominate life around the city for the week before the game. Even the charity events associated with the run up to the game are super-sized.

On Tuesday, Taste of the NFL announced that its Party with a Purpose will be held at the University of Houston on February 4, 2017, one night before Super Bowl Sunday. The event is similar to tasting fundraisers like the annual Rodeo Uncorked! Roundup and Best Bites Competition, but with an important twist.

Each NFL city is represented by a chef from one of its premier restaurants, who is then paired with a current or former NFL player. Cafe Annie chef-owner Robert Del Grande will represent Houston at the event, just as he did at first Taste of the NFL 26 years ago. As many as 2,500 people are expected to attend.

Autographs, photography, and social mingling are included in the price of admission, which starts at $700. Money raised at the event is distributed to the food banks in all 32 NFL cities. In the event’s history, it has raised over $25 million — enough to supply 200 million meals to families in need.

“We play a role that we’re really proud of,” said Taste of the NFL founder Wayne Kostroski at a press conference. “The players, the chefs, the celebrities, it’s not a paid gig. It’s everybody working out of their heart to help families — not only where the Super Bowl takes place but in each of the other 31 NFL cities. We’re very privileged to carry that banner and help people throughout the country.”

For the first time, Taste of the NFL has affiliated with a university to hold its event, and UH President Renu Khator couldn’t be more thrilled about the opportunity that hosting the event means for the school’s students, faculty, and staff.

“This is very exciting for us,” Khator said. “As you can see, it’s a party with a purpose. We are a university with a purpose. We are both mission-driven. Our missions have combined together. It’s about opportunities.”

In addition to UH, the Texas Medical Center will also participate as the official Chef Host for Taste of the NFL. Chef Jon Buchanan, executive chef of Medical Center restaurant Third Coast (the replacement for Trevisio), will represent TMC at the event.

“Houston is a foodie town,” Khator said. “We have great food here. We’re going to welcome great chefs from all over. I think it’s going to be a fantastic event come Super Bowl.”

Pepper Seared Beef by UH chef Mark Riley.

Courtesy Photo

Pepper Seared Beef by UH chef Mark Riley.

news-you-can-eat celebrities chefs fundraisers

Global acclaim

2 Houston universities named among world’s best in 2026 rankings

Rice University, aerial, campus, buildings

Photo courtesy of Rice University

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Two Houston universities are in a class of their own, earning top spots on a new global ranking of the world's best universities.

Rice University and University of Houston are among the top 1,200 schools included in the QS World University Rankings 2026. Ten more schools across Texas make the list.

QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), a London-based provider of higher education data and analytics, compiles the prestigious list each year; the 2026 edition includes more than 1,500 universities from around the world. Factors used to rank the schools include academic reputation; employer reputation; faculty-student ratio; faculty research; and international research, students, and faculty.

In Texas, University of Texas at Austin lands at No. 1 in the state, No. 20 in the U.S., and No. 68 globally.

But Houston's Rice University is close behind as Texas' No. 2 school. It ranks 29th in the U.S. and No. 119 in the world. Unlike UT, which fell two spots globally this year (from No. 66 to 68), Rice climbed up the charts, moving from 141st last year to No. 119.

University of Houston impresses as Texas' 4th highest-ranked school. It lands at No. 80 in the U.S. and No. 556 globally, also climbing about 100 spots up the chart.

Rice and UH are on a roll in regional, national, and international rankings this year. Rice earned top-15 national rankings by both Niche.com and Forbes last fall. Rice claimed No. 1 and UH ranked No. 8 in Texas in U.S. News & World Report's 2025 rankings.Rice alsotopped WalletHub's 2025 list of the best colleges and universities in Texas for 2025.

More recently, in April, both UH and Rice made U.S. News' 2025 list of top grad schools.

In all, 192 U.S. universities made the 2026 QS World University Rankings — the most of any country. Topping the global list is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“The results show that while U.S. higher education remains the global leader, its dominance is increasingly challenged by fast-rising emerging systems,” says the QS World University Rankings report. “A decade ago, 32 American universities [were] featured in the world’s top 100; today, that number has dropped to 26, and only 11 of these institutions have improved their position this year."

The 12 Texas universities that appear in the QS World University Rankings 2026 list are:

University of Texas at Austin, No. 20 in the U.S. and No. 68 in the world (down from No. 66 last year).
Rice University, No. 29 in the U.S. and No. 119 in the world (up from No. 141 last year).
Texas A&M University, No. 32 in the U.S. and No. 144 in the world (down from No. 154 last year).
University of Houston, No. 80 in the U.S. and No. 556 in the world (up from 651-660 last year).
University of Texas at Dallas, No. 85 in the U.S. and No. 597 in the world (down from 596 last year).
Texas Tech University, No. 104 in the U.S. and No. 731-740 in the world (unchanged from last year).
University of North Texas, No. 123 in the U.S. and No. 901-950 in the world (up from 1,001-1,200 last year)
Baylor University, tied for No. 136 in the U.S. and at No. 1,001-1,200 in the world (unchanged from last year).
Southern Methodist University, tied for No. 136 in the U.S. and at 1,001-1,200 in the world (unchanged from last year).
University of Texas Arlington, tied for No. 136 in the U.S. and at 1,001-1,200 in the world (unchanged from last year).
University of Texas at San Antonio, tied for No. 136 in the U.S. and at 1,001-1,200 in the world (unchanged from last year).
University of Texas at El Paso, No. 172 in the U.S. and at 1,201-1,400 in the world (down from 1,001-1,200 last year).

best qs world university rankings rankings rice university texas am university university of houston university of texas university of texas at austin ut austin

Taste of the NFL

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Pepper Seared Beef by UH chef Mark Riley.

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Global acclaim

2 Houston universities named among world’s best in 2026 rankings