• The University of Houston is one of only 12 schools in the nation to have won both a Heisman Trophy (Andre Ware, 1989) and a Lombardi Award (Wilson Whitley, 1976). • Andre Ware (2004) became the second Cougar to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, joining former UH head coach Bill Yeoman (2001) in the illustrious hall. • Houston has played in 16 bowl games TRADITION in its 60-year history, an average of one every four years. • With their 45-0 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in 1999, the Cougars now have over 300 wins since starting football in 1946. • Under the guidance of former UH head coach COUGAR FOOTBALL Bill Yeoman, the Cougars captured Cotton Bowl championships in both 1977 and 1980. • Coach Yeoman revolutionized college foot- ball in the spring of 1964, when he invented WARE the Veer-T option formation. It would be the offensive juggernaut Yeoman was seeking and catapulted him to 160 wins, four Southwest Conference titles and 18 winning seasons in 25 years of coaching the Cougars. 1977 COTTON BOWL WHITLEY BILL YEOMAN DANNY DAVIS • Jack Pardee, Coach Yeoman’s successor in 1987, also changed the way college football was to be played. He brought the high-octane, “blow up the scoreboard” mentality of the Run- and-Shoot offense to the Houston campus. • The Cougars at one time held 78 individual and 31 team NCAA records. • Former cougar quarterback David Klingler still holds sev- eral individual NCAA passing marks such as most yards in a game (716), most yard in an 11-game season (5,140), most attempts in a season (643) and most touchdown passes in a quarter (6), game (11) and a season (54). • Four Cougars played in the NFL in 2005, including Rex Had- not of the Miami Dolphins, Hanik Milligan of the San Diego Chargers, Stanford Routt of the Oakland Raiders and Antowain Smith of the New Orleans Saints. • The Cougars NFL Draft history includes 11 first-round draft picks and 166 total draftees in the last 53 years. The 1990 draft included two first-round selections: Andre Ware by the Detroit Lions and Lamar Lathon by the Houston Oilers. • Former NFL standouts Greg Brezina (LB, Atlanta Falcons), Simon Fletcher (DE, Denver Broncos), David Klingler (QB, Cincinnati Bengals/Oakland Raiders), Lamar Lathon (LB, Houston Oilers/Carolina Panthers), Eugene Lockhart (LB, Dallas Cowboys/New England Patriots), Alton Montgomery (DB, Denver Broncos/At- lanta Falcons), Glenn Montgomery (DT, Houston Oilers/Seattle Seahawks), Robert Newhouse (RB, Dallas Cowboys), Riley Odoms (TE, Denver Broncos) and Elmo Wright (WR, Kansas City Chiefs/Houston Oilers/ New England Patriots) all played their college football at the University of Houston. ELMO WRIGHT KLINGLER • Twenty Cougars have been named first team All-Americans, including center Ben Fricke in 1997. • Seven former Cougars were consensus first team All-America selections. • Seven Houston student-athletes have been honored as Academic All-Americans. • With Rex Hadnot’s participation in the 2003 Hula Bowl, 179 Cougars have now participated in post-season All-Star games. • Houston has won nine conference championships in three different leagues, most recently claiming the Conference USA title in 1996. • Since joining Conference USA in 1996, the Cougars have placed 19 players on the league’s first-team, including recent first-teamers Wayne Rogers (LB) in 2000, REYNOLDS Hanik Milligan (FS) and Joffrey Reynolds (RB) in 2002, Rex Hadnot (C) and Bran- don Middleton (WR) in 2003 and Ryan Gilbert (RB) and Vincent Marshall (WR) in 2005. • Almost 120 UH football games have been televised all-time, and six games last season...two a piece on ESPN2 and PAX and one each on CSTV and ESPN...were televised nationally. • Houston became the first team in Conference USA and the first Division I team in Texas to play an overtime game after the NCAA introduced the new format in 1996. In fact the Cougars were one of only five teams in the country to go 2-0 in overtime that season. • Houston has played the “spoiler” a number of times, but two of the most success- ful games in that role have cost opposing schools a possible national championship. When UH and Texas A&M battled to a 14-14 tie in 1956, it spoiled Bear Bryant’s perfect season and cost the Aggies the national title. UH also deflated Texas’ na- tional championship hopes in 1981, with a 14-14 tie in the Astrodome. • In 1968, 18th-ranked Houston accomplished a regular-season rarity. For the only time in school history, UH recorded two ties in posting a final record of 6-2-2. What’s really noteworthy is that the Cougars, who competed as an independent, tied the regular season champions of both the Southwest and Southeastern Conferences on the road. UH and Texas played to a 20-20 deadlock in Austin. The Cougars and eventual SEC champ, Georgia, later tied 10-10. • Current UH head coach Art Briles not only is the tenth head coach in Houston RILEY football history, but he is also the first-ever former Cougar player to lead the UH ODOMS program. ON GAMEDAY The pre-game atmosphere at all Cougar home games is extremely festive, including tailgating, live performances and various oth- er types of fan involvement. Spaces on Tail- gate Alley, a grassy and shaded area located on the west side of Robertson Stadium, can be reserved by calling (713) 743-9450. HOUSTON vs DAYTON 1951 Salad Bowl In its first-ever bowl game in 1951, the University of Houston traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, to face Dayton in the Salad Bowl, a game won by the Cougars, 26-21. HOUSTON vs N.C. STATE 1974 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl In an offensive shootout, Houston and North Carolina State combined to score 35 points in the final quar- ter on the way to a 31-31 tie in the Astrodome in the 1974 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. COUGAR BOWL HISTORY BOWL COUGAR HOUSTON vs MARYLAND 1977 Cotton Bowl In a history-making performance, the Cougars hammered the previously undefeated Maryland Terrapins, 30-21, in Houston’s first-ever trip to the Cotton Bowl. More important, the Cougars earned the right to the New Year’s Day game by capturing the Southwest Conference Cham- pionship in their first season in the league. HOUSTON vs NEBRASKA 1980 Cotton Bowl With time running out in the 1980 Cotton Bowl, Hous- ton quarterback Terry Elston engineered a 66-yard drive that resulted in a six-yard touchdown pass with just 12 seconds to play to catapult the Cougars to a 17-14 win over the Cornhuskers. COUGAR BOWL HISTORY Year Bowl Opponent W/L Score 1951 Salad Dayton W 26-21 1962 Tangerine Miami (Ohio) W 49-21 1969 Bluebonnet Auburn W 36-7 1971 Bluebonnet Colorado L 17-29 1973 Bluebonnet Tulane W 47-7 1974 Bluebonnet N.C.State T 31-31 1977 Cotton Maryland W 30-21 1978 Cotton Notre Dame L 34-35 1980 Cotton Nebraska W 17-14 1980 Garden State Navy W 35-0 1981 Sun Oklahoma L 14-40 1984 Cotton Boston College L 28-45 1988 Aloha Wash. State L 22-24 1996 Liberty Syracuse L 17-30 2003 Hawai’i Hawai’i L 48-54 (3-OT) 2005 Fort Worth Kansas L 13-42 HOUSTON vs BOSTON COLLEGE 1984 Cotton Bowl Houston and Boston College battled in the 1984 Cotton Bowl and the Eagles prevailed, 45-28, behind Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie and two fourth-quarter touch- downs. HOUSTON vs SYRACUSE 1996 Liberty Bowl In their first season in Conference USA, the Cougars cap- tured the league title and represented the conference in the St. Jude Liberty Bowl. Despite a great offensive per- formance by quarterback Chuck Clements and running back Antowain Smith, the Cougars fell to the Orangemen, 30-17. HOUSTON vs HAWAI’I 2003 Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl Jackie Battle rushed for 124 yards and three touch- downs, but it was Vincent Marshall’s 81-yard catch-and- run touchdown in the waning seconds that tied the game, as the Cougars registered one of the most thrilling bowl games in their history despite losing 54-48 to Hawai’i in triple overtime at the 2003 Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS Year Player Pick Team 1971 Elmo Wright, WR 16 Kansas City Chiefs 1972 Riley Odoms, TE 5 Denver Broncos 1975 Mark Mitchell, DE 5 Cleveland Browns 1977 Wilson Whitley, DT 8 Cincinnati Bengals 1979 Willis Adams, WR 20 Cleveland Browns 1980 Leonard Mitchell, DE 27 Philadelphi Eagles 1990 Andre Ware, QB 7 Detroit Lions Lamar Lathon, LB 15 Houston Oilers 1992 David Klinger, QB 6 Cincinnati Bengals 1994 Billy Miner, OT 25 Miami Dolphins 1996 Antowain Smith 23 Buffalo Bills LAMAR LATHON COUGARS IN THE PROS THE IN COUGARS RILEY ODOMS REX HADNOT JOFFREY REYNOLDS ANTOWAIN SMITH ACTIVE PRO Players HAMIN MILLIGAN Adriano Belli Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) William Fields Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) Rex Hadnot Miami Dolphins Thomas Gafford Green Bay Packers Jerrin James Orlando Predators (AFL) Dedric Mathis Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) Brandon Middleton St. Louis Rams Hamin Milligan Dallas Desperados Hanik Milligan San Diego Chargers Delmonico Montgomery Nashville Kats (AFL) Scott Regimbald Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) Joffrey Reynolds Calgary Stampeders (CFL) Brian Robinson Nashville Kats (AFL) Stanford Routt Oakland Raiders Antowain Smith Houston Texans ADRIANO BELLI DELMONICO MONTGOMERY SCOTT REGIMBALD STANFORD ROUTT HANIK MILLIGAN Each spring, scouts from the National Football League attend the University of Houston’s Pro Day. Senior Cou- gars are put through a battery of tests ranging from the bench press and vertical jump to the shuttle run and 40- yard dash.