The University of Houston is a public research university in Houston, Texas. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, one of multiple junior college institutions formed in the first decades of the 20th century. In 1934, HJC was restructured as a four-year degree-granting institution and renamed as the University of Houston. Today, Houston is the fourth-largest university in Texas, awarding 11,156 degrees in 2023. It has a worldwide alumni base of nearly 200,000.
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 the women's volleyball team. The arena opened in 1967 as Hofheinz Pavilion, named after Roy Hofheinz and his late wife, Irene Cafcalas "Dene" Hofheinz, after they donated $1.5 million to help fund construction. Roy Hofheinz, known as Judge Hofheinz, was a UH alumnus and a Houston politician, businessman, and philanthropist. The arena is now named after restaurant magnate, Houston Rockets owner and UH alum Tilman Fertitta, who donated $20 million toward the complete renovation of the arena in 2016. The court is named for Hall of Fame and former Cougars coach Guy V. Lewis. Like many arenas of its kind, the seating bowl of Fertitta Center is dug into the ground so that one enters the building at the top of the bowl.
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.
Guy Vernon Lewis II 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 appearances in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, in 1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, and 1984. His 1980s teams, nicknamed Phi Slama Jama for their slam dunks, were runners-up for the national championship in back-to-back seasons in 1983 and 1984. He was inducted into National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Health and Physical Education Arena is an 8,100-seat multi-purpose arena in Houston, Texas on the campus of Texas Southern University.
The Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, in the NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. They compete as members of the Big 12 Conference. The program has made six appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four, which is tied for 10th most all-time, along with the most for any team who has not won a national championship.
The Texas Southern Tigers represent Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas, in intercollegiate athletics. They field sixteen teams including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, and track and field; women's-only bowling, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball; and men's-only baseball and football. The Tigers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The Houston Cougars golf program is an NCAA Division I golf program at the University of Houston. The men's program, under head coach Jonathan Dismuke, and the women's program, coached by Lydia Gumm, both compete in the Big 12 Conference.
The Houston Cougars softball team is the college softball team of the University of Houston. The team is a member of the Big 12 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.
The Houston Cougars women's basketball team represents the University of Houston in NCAA Division I women's basketball. Coached by Ronald Hughey, the team plays their home games at Fertitta Center on-campus at the University of Houston.
The SIU Edwardsville Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), located in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. The Cougars' athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and competes at the NCAA Division I level. The SIUE mascot is Eddie the Cougar #57, and the school colors are red and white. Cougar teams have won seventeen NCAA national championships in five sports.
The 2017–18 Houston Cougars women's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The season marked the fifth for the Cougars as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Cougars, led by fourth year head coach Ronald Hughey, played their home games at Health and Physical Education Arena due to renovations at Hofheinz Pavilion, which will be renamed Fertitta Center and will reopen during the 2018–19 season. They finished the season 20–12, 9–7 in The American play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They lost to Tulsa in the first round of the American Athletic Conference women's tournament. They received an at-large bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they lost to South Dakota.
The 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November 2018 and concluded with the Final Four title game at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, in April 2019. Practices officially began in September 2018.
The 2018–19 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by fifth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson as members of the American Athletic Conference. Beginning December 1, 2018, they played their home games at Fertitta Center, which reopened after a $60 million upgrade. The Cougars played their first four non-conference home games at H&PE Arena while construction on Fertitta Center was completed.
The 2018–19 Houston Cougars women's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The season marked the sixth for the Cougars as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Cougars were led by fifth-year head coach Ronald Hughey. They played their home games at Fertitta Center, which reopened on December 1, 2018, after a $60 million upgrade. The Cougars played their first three non-conference home games at H&PE Arena while construction on Fertitta Center was completed. They finished the season 15–16, 9–7 in The American play to finish in fourth place. They lost to South Florida in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference women's tournament. They received an at-large bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they lost to Arkansas in the first round.
The 2019–20 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by sixth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson as members of the American Athletic Conference. This was the second season that the team played its home games at the Fertitta Center.
The 2020–21 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by seventh-year head coach Kelvin Sampson as members of the American Athletic Conference. It was the third season that the team played its home games at the Fertitta Center. They won their first ever AAC tournament to clinch an auto-bid to the NCAA tournament, where they were selected as a #2 seed in the Midwest Region. The team advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1984. They eventually lost to Baylor in the Final Four who went on to become the national champions that season.
The 2022–23 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by ninth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. The team played their home games at the Fertitta Center as members of the American Athletic Conference. In September 2021, Houston and fellow conference members Cincinnati and UCF accepted bids to join the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 33–4, 17–1 in AAC play, to win the AAC regular season championship. They defeated East Carolina and Cincinnati to advance to the AAC tournament championship game where they lost to Memphis. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the #1 seed in the Midwest Regional. They defeated Northern Kentucky and Auburn to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. There they lost to Miami (FL).
The 2023–24 Houston Cougars women's basketball team represents the University of Houston during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cougars, are led by tenth-year head coach Ronald Hughey and play their home games at the Fertitta Center as members of the Big 12 Conference.
