The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instructor of the university and former head football coach, John R. Bender after one of his former teams, Washington State later adopted the mascot and nickname. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

. The official school colors of the University of Houston are scarlet red and albino white, and the mascot is a cougar named Shasta. Houston's traditional rival has been

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

with whom the Cougars shared a conference for thirty-three non-consecutive years (see also

Houston–Rice rivalry The Houston–Rice rivalry is a crosstown college rivalry between the Houston Cougars of the University of Houston and Rice Owls of Rice University. The universities are located approximately five miles from one another. It ...

). Houston has had notable sports teams in its history, including

Phi Slama Jama Phi Slama Jama was a name given to the men's college basketball teams of the Houston Cougars from 1982 to 1984. Coined by former ''Houston Post'' sportswriter Thomas Bonk, the nickname was quickly adopted by the players and even appeared on team w ...

and the sixteen-time national champion men's golf team. The university's campus is home to many on-campus athletic facilities including

TDECU Stadium John O'Quinn Field at TDECU Stadium is an American football stadium on the campus of the University of Houston. The stadium serves as the home of the Houston Cougars football team, which represents the University of Houston in collegiate ...

(on the site of the former

Robertson Stadium John O'Quinn Field at Corbin J. Robertson Stadium (often referred to as simply Robertson Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, located on the campus of the University of Houston. It was the home of the Houston Cougars football and wom ...

Fertitta Center The Fertitta Center, formerly known as Hofheinz Pavilion, is a 7,100-seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Houston campus in Houston. Located at 3875 Holman Street, it is home to the Houston Cougars men's and women's basketball teams and ...

, and Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park. Prior to 1960, Houston was a member of several athletic conferences including the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in T ...

Gulf Coast Conference The Gulf Coast Conference (GCC) was a short-lived NCAA college athletic conference composed of universities in the U.S. state of Texas from 1949 until 1957. The charter members of the conference were University of Houston, Midwestern University ...

, and

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

. From 1960 until 1971, Houston competed as an independent. From 1971 until 1996, Houston's sports teams were a part of the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...

. After the dissolution of that conference in 1996, the Cougars became charter members of Conference USA. Houston remained a member of Conference USA until 2013 when they joined the American Athletic Conference. In September 2021, Houston received and accepted a membership offer to the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

. They are expected to begin play in that conference no later than July 1, 2024.

Sports sponsored

The most recently added sport was women's golf. Two players represented UH as individuals in the 2014 season (played during the 2013–14 school year), and a complete team was formed starting in the 2014–15 season.

Football

UH fielded its first varsity intercollegiate football team in 1946. The Houston Cougars football team currently competes in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

. After completing 18 seasons in C-USA in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, the Cougars joined the American Athletic Conference in 2013. The team played its home games at

before it was closed and demolished after the 2012 season. The Cougars divided their home schedule in their first AAC season between

Reliant Stadium NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...

and

BBVA Compass Stadium Shell Energy Stadium (formerly BBVA Compass Stadium, BBVA Stadium, then PNC Stadium) is an American multi-purpose stadium located in Houston, Texas that is home to Houston Dynamo FC, a Major League Soccer club, the Houston Dash of the Nation ...

; the new

opened on the Robertson Stadium site in 2014. The Cougars are coached by

Dana Holgorsen Dana Carl Holgorsen (born June 21, 1971) is the head football coach at the University of Houston. He was the head coach at West Virginia University from 2011 to 2018. During his coaching career he has served under coaches such as Hal Mumme, Mike ...

, who was named head coach in January 2019 following the firing on December 30, 2018, of

Major Applewhite Major Lee Applewhite (born July 26, 1978) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the South Alabama Jaguars. He served as head coach at the University of Houston from ...

, under whom the team had gone 0–3 in bowl games, including a 70–14 loss to Army.

Basketball

The Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Cougars Men's basketball team plays in the American Athletic Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2022. The Cougars are currently coached by

Kelvin Sampson Kelvin Dale Sampson (born October 5, 1955) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach for the University of Houston of the American Athletic Conference. Early life Sampson was born in the Lumbee Native American community of ...

. The Cougars play their home games in the

, which opened during the 2018–19 season after renovation of the former Hofheinz Pavilion. During the renovation, home games were played at H&PE Arena at

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...

. Notable players for the UH Men's basketball team include Basketball Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association ...

(who would win two and one NBA Championships respectively, both for the hometown Houston Rockets in 1994–95, with Olajuwon being the Finals MVP for both titles) and also were part of the legendary Cougars fraternity

, as well as

Otis Birdsong Otis Lee Birdsong (born December 9, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent twelve seasons (1977–1989) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and appeared in four NBA All-Star Games. A guard who attended Wint ...

and Hall of Famer

Elvin Hayes Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945), nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma-mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and a ...

(who would win one NBA Championship with the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

in 1978). Each of these players has had his number retired. Notable coaches for the Cougars are

Guy Lewis Guy Vernon Lewis II (March 19, 1922 – November 26, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Houston from 1956 to 1986. Lewis led his Houston Cougars to five appearanc ...

and Clyde Drexler. Notable games for the Cougars include the first nationally syndicated NCAA basketball game, known as the " Game of the Century," and the NCAA National Championship Games in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. The women's team has made the NCAA Tournament in 1988, 1992, 2004, 2005, and 2011. The women played their entire 2017–18 home schedule at H&PE Arena.

Baseball

Along with the university's other athletic teams, the baseball team is a member of the American Athletic Conference as a Division I team. They play their home games at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park and are currently coached by

Todd Whitting Todd Ross Whitting (born June 13, 1972) is an American college baseball coach and former player who currently serves as the head coach of the Houston Cougars baseball team. Prior to his current position, Whitting served as associate head coach ...

. The Houston Cougars baseball program has appeared in numerous NCAA Regionals, Super Regionals, and

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

Softball

The Houston Cougars softball team is the college softball team of the University of Houston. The team is a member of the American Athletic Conference as a Division I team. Their home games are played at Cougar Softball Stadium on-campus. The team was established in 2001, and was the regular season champion of Conference USA three times. The Cougars are coached by

Kristin Vesely Kristin Marie Vesely is an American, former collegiate All-American, professional softball outfielder and current head coach at Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United State ...

Championships

NCAA team championships

Houston has won 17 NCAA team national championships. *Men's (17) ** Cross Country (1): 1960 **

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

(16): 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1985 *see also: ** American Athletic Conference NCAA team championships **

List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships Listed below are the colleges or universities with the most NCAA Division I-sanctioned team championships, individual championships, and combined team and individual championships, as documented by information published on official NCAA websites. ...

List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships This is a list of U.S. universities and colleges that have won the most team sport national championships (more than 15) that have been bestowed for the highest level of collegiate athletic competition, be that at either the varsity or club level, ...

Notable non varsity sports

Rugby

The University of Houston Rugby Club plays

college rugby College rugby is played by men and women throughout colleges and universities in the United States of America. Seven-a-side and fifteen-a-side variants of rugby union are most commonly played. Most collegiate rugby programs do not fall under the ...

in the Red River Conference of

Division 1-A Rugby Division 1-A Rugby (formerly known as the College Premier Division) is the highest level of college rugby within the United States and is administered by USA Rugby. Division 1-A rugby is modeled after NCAA athletic competitions, with the 67 D1-A ...

against traditional rivals such as Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and TCU. The UH Rugby Club previously played Division III college rugby. The UH Rugby Club is a registered organization sponsored by the UH campus recreation department.

Cricket

The University of Houston Cricket Club won the 2019 National College Cricket Association championship.

Rivalries

Houston's most meaningful current rivalry is with cross-town Rice University, which is a member of Conference USA. The Cougars and

Rice Owls Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of Conference USA, Rice sponsors teams in seven men's and seven women's NCAA sanct ...

have competed in football, annually with a few exceptions, for a trophy known as the " Bayou Bucket", referencing one of the city of Houston's nicknames as the "Bayou City." Historically, the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

was one of Houston's principal rivals, when Houston was part of the now-defunct

. This rivalry gave rise to the Houston Cougar Paw tradition.Houston Cougars Traditions
. UH Athletics. Retrieved July 4, 2022.

Athletic facilities

Most of the university's major sports facilities are located along Cullen Boulevard, the central traffic artery through the campus. At times in the past, some of the university's teams have played their home games at off-campus venues such as the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

and Rice Stadium. The men's golf program competes off campus because it does not have a dedicated golf course on campus. University of Houston's current sports facilities include the following:Facilities
, UH Athletics, Retrieved August 19, 2007. *

– Football *

– Men's and Women's Basketball * Darryl and Lori Schroeder Park – Baseball *

Cougar Softball Stadium Cougar Softball Stadium, formerly known as Cougar Softball Field and Cougar Softball Complex, is the home field for the Houston Cougars softball team located on the campus of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Following the majority of t ...

– Softball *

Tom Tellez Track at Carl Lewis International Complex The Tom Tellez Track at Carl Lewis International Complex, also known as simply Tom Tellez Track or Carl Lewis International Complex, is home to the Houston Cougars men's and women's outdoor track and field teams and women's soccer team. The facil ...

– Outdoor Track and Field and Soccer *John E. Hoff Courts – Tennis *CRWC Natatorium – Swimming & Diving *Athletics/Alumni Center – (Home venues: indoor tennis, Indoor track and field, Volleyball), (Practice: Football and Basketball), (Training: All Sports) *Yeoman Fieldhouse – Indoor Track & Field * Redstone Golf Club – Men's and Women's Golf *Dave Williams Golf Academy – Men's and Women's Golf The Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer was a tenant at Robertson Stadium until 2011. The stadium hosted the MLS Western Conference Final in 2006 and 2007. File:UH Athletics-Alumni Center 2.jpg, The Athletics/Alumni Center on Cullen Boulevard File:Fertitta Center Interior - December 2018.jpg, Fertitta Center File:Cougar Field 3.jpg, Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park

References

External links

* {{Texas sports