Houston Cougars

The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston in Texas. 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 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, with whom the Cougars shared a conference for thirty-three non-consecutive years.

Football

Houston Cougars college football

First Season
1946
Team History
Houston Cougars (1946-present)
Conference
American Athletic Conference (2013-present) Conference USA (1996-2021) Southwest Conference (1976-95) Independent (1960-75) Missouri Valley Conference (1951-59) Gulf Coast Conference (1949-50) Lone Star Conference (1946-48)
Venue
TDECU Stadium (2014–present) BBVA Compass Stadium (2013) Reliant Stadium (2013) Robertson Stadium (1946-50, 1998-2012) Astrodome (1965-97) Rice Stadium (1951-64)
Key People
Players • Coaches

Programs by season

1950s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
1952
December 6	vs. Wyoming	Rice Stadium
1954
September 18	at Baylor	Baylor Stadium
November 6	vs. Tulsa	Rice Stadium
1958
October 4	at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium

1960s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
1961
October 21	at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium
1963
November 30	at Memphis State	Crump Stadium
1965
September 24	vs. Cincinnati	Astrodome
1966
November 5	vs. Tulsa	Astrodome
1967
September 15	vs. Florida State	Astrodome
September 23	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium
September 29	vs. Wake Forest	Astrodome
October 7	vs. NC State	Astrodome
1968
September 14	vs. Tulane	Astrodome
October 12	vs. Oklahoma State	Astrodome
1969
November 1	vs. Miami	Astrodome
November 22	vs. Wyoming	Astrodome
December 31	vs. Auburn	Astrodome

1970s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
1970
September 19	vs. Syracuse	Astrodome
October 24	vs. Alabama	Astrodome
October 31	vs. Tulsa	Astrodome
November 26	at Florida State	Tampa Stadium
1971
December 31	vs. Colorado	Astro Bluebonnet Bowl (Houston, TX)
1972
October 7	at Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium
1973
October 27	at Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium
December 29	vs. Tulane	Astrodome
1974
September 7	at Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium
September 28	at Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium
October 25	vs. Cincinnati	Astrodome
December 23	vs. NC State	Astro Bluebonnet Bowl (Houston, TX)
1975
September 13	vs. Rice	Astrodome
1976
September 18	at Florida	Florida Field
November 27	at Rice	Rice Stadium
January 1, 1977	vs. Maryland	Cotton Bowl
1978
January 1, 1979	vs. Notre Dame	Cotton Bowl
1979
October 27	at Arkansas	Razorback Stadium
January 1, 1980	vs. Nebraska	Cotton Bowl

1980s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
1980
December 14	vs. Navy	Giants Stadium
1981
December 26	vs. Oklahoma	Sun Bowl
1983
September 10	vs. Miami	Astrodome
1984
January 1, 1985	vs. Boston College	Cotton Bowl
1985
October 5	vs. Baylor	Astrodome
1986
November 8	at Texas	Memorial Stadium
1987
October 10	at Texas A&M	Kyle Field
November 7	vs. Texas	Astrodome
1988
October 8	vs. Texas A&M	Astrodome
December 25	vs. Washington State	Aloha Stadium

1990s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
1992
September 26	at Michigan	Michigan Stadium
1995
September 2	at Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field
1999
November 6	vs. Tulane	Robertson Stadium

2000s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
2003
December 25	vs. Hawaii	Aloha Stadium
2004
September 23	vs. Miami	Robertson Stadium
2006
December 29	vs. South Carolina	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium

2010s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
2010
October 9	vs. Mississippi State	Robertson Stadium

Media guides and yearbooks by season

Media guides

2000s	2006
2010s	2017 • 2018 • 2019
2020s	2020

Men's Basketball

Houston Cougars men's college basketball

First Season
1946-47
Team History
Houston Cougars (1946-present)
Conference
American Athletic Conference (2013-present) Conference USA (1996-2021) Southwest Conference (1976-95) Independent (1960-75) Missouri Valley Conference (1951-59) Gulf Coast Conference (1949-50) Lone Star Conference (1946-48)
Venue
Fertitta Center (1969-present) Health and Physical Education Arena (2017–2018) Delmar Fieldhouse (1966-69) Jeppesen Gymnasium (1946-66)
Key People
Players • Coaches

Programs by season

1960s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
1966-67
March 24, 1967	vs. Dayton	Freedom Hall
1967-68
March 22, 1968	vs. UCLA	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena

1970s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
1979-80
February 9, 1980	vs. Arkansas	Hofheinz Pavilion

1980s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
1981-82
March 27, 1982	vs. North Carolina	Louisiana Superdome
1983-84
March 31 & April 2, 1984	vs. Virginia & Georgetown	Kingdome

2020s

Season/Date	Opponent	Venue
2020-21
April 3, 2021	vs. Baylor	Lucas Oil Stadium

Media guides and yearbooks by season

Media guides

1990s	1994-95
2020s	2021-22

Women's Basketball

Houston Cougars women's college basketball

First Season
1975-76
Team History
Houston Cougars (1975-present)
Conference
Conference USA
Venue
Fertitta Center (1975-present) Health and Physical Education Arena (2017-18)
Key People
Players • Coaches

Media guides and yearbooks

Media guides

2000s	2007-08