The Cougars coach would become the oldest to ever win a national championship if he leads the Cougars to their first trophy.

The journey began for Kelvin Sampson in Butte, Mont., arguably as far from college basketball’s grandest stage as one could get. Forty-four years later, he has the University of Houston just 40 minutes away from its — and his — first national championship in Monday night’s title game against Florida at the Alamodome.

Kelvin Sampson reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, scrolling through more than 400 congratulatory texts. He took a few minutes to wade through all of the well-wishes, then when he came across the message from longtime Spurs coach Gregg Popovich,