The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. 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 Big 12 Conference.
The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH". The UH football program is a member of the Big 12 Conference. Since the 2014 season, the Cougars have played their home games on campus at TDECU Stadium, which was built on the site formerly occupied by Robertson Stadium, where they played home games from 1941 to 1950 and from 1997 to 2012. Over the history of the program, the Cougars have won eleven conference championships and have had several players elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, including a Heisman Trophy winner.
Case Austin Keenum is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Houston Cougars, where he became the NCAA's all-time leader in total passing yards, touchdowns, and completions. In the 2008 college football season, Keenum ranked first nationally in total offense and second in total passing yards.
The 2008 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 63rd year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by first-year head football coach, Kevin Sumlin whose previous position was as co-offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners. He replaced Art Briles. The team played its home games at Robertson Stadium, a 32,000-person capacity stadium on-campus in Houston. Competing against the Air Force Falcons in the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl, the Cougars won their first bowl game since 1980, and broke the longest current bowl game losing streak in Division I FBS football at that time. In addition, Houston defeated two nationally ranked opponents, which the Cougars hadn't achieved since their 1984 season.
Dana Carl Holgorsen is an American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at West Virginia University from 2011 to 2018 and the University of Houston from 2019 to 2023. Holgorsen has worked as an assistant coach under Hal Mumme, Mike Leach, Kevin Sumlin, and Mike Gundy.
The 2009 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 64th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by second year head football coach, Kevin Sumlin. The team played its home games at Robertson Stadium, a 32,000-seat stadium on campus in Houston. The Cougars finished the season 10–4, 6–3 in CUSA play, were co–champions of the west division and lost to East Carolina 38–32 in the CUSA Championship Game. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they lost to Air Force 47–20. It was the second consecutive year that they had played Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Chase Austin Clement is a former American football quarterback. Clement played college football for Rice University, where he finished his career ranked first in school history with 9,785 passing yards and 11,526 yards total offense. He has played professionally for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League (UFL), leading the team to a championship in 2010.
The First Responder Bowl is an NCAA post-season college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas, Texas, area. The bowl was first held on January 1, 2011, and since 2014 has been contested in late December. The bowl was held at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park in Dallas through the 2018 game. Since the Cotton Bowl was being used for the 2020 NHL Winter Classic and was not available, the 2019 edition of the bowl was played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in nearby University Park, Texas. The stadium has since become the permanent home of the game.
The 2009 Armed Forces Bowl was the seventh edition of the Armed Forces Bowl, a college football bowl game, and was played at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The game started at 12:00 PM US EST on Thursday, December 31, 2009. The game was telecast on ESPN and matched the Houston Cougars of Conference USA and the Air Force Falcons of the Mountain West Conference. The game earned a 1.6 rating.
The 2010 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 65th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by third-year head football coach Kevin Sumlin, and played its home games at Robertson Stadium—a 32,000-seat stadium on campus in Houston. The program is a member of Conference USA in its West Division. Although ranked favorably early in the season, the team finished with a 5–7 record, after season-ending injuries to starting quarterback Case Keenum and other key players.
The 1969 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. It was the 24th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by eighth-year head coach Bill Yeoman who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. The team played its home games in the Astrodome, a 53,000-person capacity stadium off-campus in Houston. Houston competed as a member of the NCAA in the University Division, independent of any athletic conference. It was their tenth year of doing so. After completion of the regular season, the Cougars were invited to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, where they defeated the Auburn Tigers. Following the overall season, several players were selected for the 1970 NFL Draft.
The 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The 2011 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 66th year of season play for Houston. The program was a member of Conference USA in its West Division.
Tony Levine is a former American football coach who last coached at Purdue as the special teams coordinator, co-offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach. He is a former head coach for the Houston Cougars football team. Levine now owns and operates a Chick-fil-A restaurant in the Houston suburb of Missouri City, Texas.
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 football and the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL.
The 2015 Armed Forces Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on January 2, 2015, at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. The twelfth annual Armed Forces Bowl, it matched the Houston Cougars of the American Athletic Conference against the Pittsburgh Panthers of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The game began at 11:00 a.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season.
The Houston Cougars football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Houston Cougars football program in various categories, including passing, rushing, receiving, total offense, defensive stats, and kicking. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders. The Cougars represent the University of Houston in the NCAA Division I FBS Big 12 Conference.
The 2018 Armed Forces Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 22, 2018. It was the 16th edition of the Armed Forces Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, the game was officially known as the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. On December 18, it was announced that the game had officially sold out of tickets, the first such sellout in the Armed Forces Bowl's 16-year history.
