Back to the College Football Uniforms
Former coach Kevin Sumlin would be proud.
Two years after Houston’s offensive-minded coach jumped ship for the head gig at Texas A&M, the Cougars are finally getting new uniforms. And they’re some of Nike’s best and most innovative.
An all-white jersey and pants combination with the program’s first-ever white helmet with red trim was unveiled spring 2013, but that wasn’t the biggest surprise. Houston has used its interlocking “UH” as the primary logo since 1962, but welcome modern and oversized cougar heads on red metallic shells for the 2013 season. Like similar oversized logos first used on alternate helmets at Boise State and Mississippi State in 2012, Houston’s look is the fiercest in the conference.
The timing for a logo, font and uniform makeover was just right for the Cougars who had been stuck in gear based off a traditional Nike template for several years. A more sleek “UH” unveiled in 2012 as the first step toward the rebranding dropped its navy border altogether that had lasted on logos for five decades.
For homecoming during the 2012 season, Houston donned all-gray uniforms for the first time with red accents and a red helmet that featured a secondary logo on one side and numerals on the other. Nike’s alternate courageous alternates proved to be short-lived following the Cougars’ 41-7 loss to Tulsa. Primary current combinations are red on white at home and white on red on the road. Contrasting collars have remained throughout Houston’s partnership with the swoosh.
