Title. As students in your time, what was done to create an atmosphere on campus? Or what wasn’t done that lacked the atmosphere? Our mission now is to create spirit videos, but at the same time foster the fact that one should represent the school they attend. Thoughts?
Win
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I hate that response. Alumni should support the school no matter what. You chose this college. Winning doesn’t determine school pride or showing up. Winning makes it that much more fun. Terrible answer
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Me as a parent must get my kids prideful of UH before college. It start with me!!!
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I agree, We should support our student athletes no matter what. I think I’ve the school teams as if they were my kids. Did I only show up when they won, uhhh no. I went to all the games anyway. I think it is how times have changed tho… many these days view attending a sporting event as entertainment, I on the other hand view it as my role as a former student ( and when I was a students) is to be there to enjoy supporting my teams no matter how good they are.
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When I was a student there was nothing to get students who didnt have connections with other students to go. The things that pushed alot of us was bott and other professors use to give extra credit for attending and promoted wearing red on fridays. When he left it was gone I believe. Don’t remember what year he left. But I wish all professors did that. Sadly some dont believe sports are important and a waste of time.
What I wish we had was what aggies do for the students on campus is teach them chants and promote inclusion. Maybe even get the students in dorms an incentive to come out. They alone would fill the stands. Maybe have a table outside PGH telling students to come out as the walk by. I also wish we would take all the new and entering freshman to the stadium at night by invite and have a party or something similar get them involved.
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Everyone sets their own priorities and no one can else can tell them what they should be; taking pride in one’s school is a personal thing. Also, the diversity of our university brings in student ethnicities that have no interest in American football or basketball – and being uninterested in sports doesn’t mean one isn’t in proud of one’s school. Maybe if we had a men’s soccer team they would be more interested.
Many older schools with many generations of alumni have that pride passed on from generation to generation. I know I took my daughter to UH games from day one and she ended up as a Cougar Doll and proud alumna. My grandchildren have been indoctrinated in UH sports and I supsect they will be Coogs as well, though one granddaughter may end up at her mother’s school, SFA.
Our university has a large per centage of students that are first in their families to attend college. Some students with no previous loyalty or ties to the school are the ones least likely to be drawn to supporting our teams if they are doing poorly during their time in school. Others are so happy to be going to college – and their parents are so proud of them for doing so – they become some of our staunchest alumni. My sister and I were the first in our family to attend college, my dad never even finished high school; he enlisted in the Marine Corps right after Pearl Harbor instead of fininshing his senior year.
So, I guess there is no magic formula that I can think of.
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I have to admit, I was not the most avid Coog fan while in school or years thereafter. I was the classic commuter student working my way thru college…main focus was getting my engineering degree.
After being away a few years, my misses and I moved back to Houston in 2000. We had a 2 year old at the time. Kid #2 was born in 2001. We started bringing them to UH football games in Robertson during the program’s resurgence and have had season tickets for several seasons now. Today, both kids are attending UH in the Engineering Honors College. Kid #1 is a senior and #2 is a freshman and both live on campus. We still attend football games as a family.
I often hear about fellow Coog’s kids choosing another school. Or: “…Yeah, my dad/mom went to UH”. I don’t judge…it happens. I believe the excitement of the Keenum era, and the welling of pride in my wife and I influenced in a good way. The Ward Jr. era was icing on the cake (kid #1 was a freshman when Ward & Co. defeated Oklahoma in 2016). So yes, the winning was beneficial, in my opinion. Thank you Case! Thank you Greg! Thanks UH Football!
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Yes! Props for mentioning Bott. Had him in '05. Excellent chem professor, and always did a good job of promoting the football games, offering extra credit as an incentive etc.
Yeah, no magic formula as Mike mentioned. I think if your parents and other family members are alumni and passionate about supporting the sports teams, then there’s a good chance you will too. But it all starts with supporting the team win or lose and getting excited about the games. Winning also helps, but I think family alumni plays a bigger role.
I do think the dorms should try and promote the games more. Not sure what they’re doing now, but when I lived in Bates at the quad, I don’t remember a lot of promoting the football games. (Kolb and Keenum eras) I went because I was excited to experience the games a s a student. But not all kids care, and that’s fine too. It doesn’t mean they don’t support the school. One of my roommates didn’t give 2 craps about sports.
I do think there’s a higher chance of getting more students to come if the college is in a po dunk college town because there isn’t much else to do. Sports is THE thing to do in those places, it’s all they have. I’ve been to aPenn State Ohio State game in State college , and you would’ve thought it was the Super Bowl. I also got the feeling that many people at the game weren’t even alumni.
Maybe giving a stadium tour during orientation might help? Letting students and prospective students walk the field might be cool. Do they do that? Using influential faculty as promotors of the sports culture is definitely helpful.
Just win baby
signed
Al Davis
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Seriously do you people want the moral high ground like Obi Wan Kenobi or reality?
Win.
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I became a fan mostly from the wild nights on Hoffeinz Pavilion waiting for the morning opening of the ticket office… we got stories.
Bring real Shasta back to the field.
Them was the days!!!
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winning will bring in the casual fan and the houston based college football fan …true. But if you want to sell out your stadium all the time regardless it’s both a culture of winning and pride in the program.
students of my era got a taste of winning with phi slama jama in basketball and then footballs run and shoot with andre ware etc…
That will forever leave you craving for more…and believing that UH can be a national power
we have a culture of winning in many different eras, it’s time to start reminding people of that and tying that past to our present.
What was the attendance like during those days? Just curious.
We are not the Aggies and never will be. We are not going to teach chants at a midnight yell.
That said, your Aggie mention leads to a greater truism.
Pride often starts with a slight or a perceived slight.
The Aggies entire alma mater is about another school. They are fixated. They don’t even play that school anymore and they want to saw the horns off of “Varsity”
I was recently looking at Cornell traditions and they are fixated by the more famous and prestigious Harvard.
What doesn’t destroy us makes us stronger. I am proud of Cougar High and am proud of our maimed Cougar Paw. We use a tragic event (well for the Cougar it was tragic) as a symbol of pride.
Embrace what we have. Don’t create pride we already have it.
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In 1976, our 1st year in the SWC, drew 70K for #9 aTm and 47K for #15 Arkansas games at Rice Stadium mainly due to huge crowds from visitors. We drew 23K for West Texas State, 18K for TCU, and 20K for Miami at the Astrodome. We won the SWC beating #9 aTm, #15 Ark, #20 UT, and #5 TT and went to Cotton Bowl where we beat #4 Maryland. Thought I would throw that in for you young’ens who think the 2015 seaon was the best.
In 1977 we drew 38K for #11 UCLA, 37K for BU, 30K for SMU, and 43K for #16 TT at the Astodome. We drew 72K for #1 UT at Rice and it looked like a UT home game. After the first two years we played all home games at the Astrodome. We ended up 6-5.
In 1978, we did a lot better. 30K for Utah, 35K for BU, 52K for #6 aTm, 51K for #9 Arky, 30K for TCU, and 33K for Rice. We won SWC and went to Cotton Bowl.
1979 we drew 34K for Florida, 27K for W.TX St, 41K for SMU, 55K for #8 UT, and 25K for TT. We won the SWC and wentr to the Cotton Bowl where we beat #7 Nebraska.
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For full reference from media guide:
AVERAGE HOME ATTENDANCE
does not include bowl games
- 45,674 6 1967 Astrodome
- 44,488 5 1977 4 Astrodome, 1 Rice
- 41,076 7 1966 Astrodome
- 39,254 5 1978 Astrodome
- 38,953 6 2016 TDECU Stadium
- 37,848 6 1979 Astrodome
- 36,331 5 1969 Astrodome
- 35,961 5 1976 3 Astrodome, 2 Rice
- 35,796 5 1970 Astrodome
- 35,018 6 1965 Astrodome
- 34,949 5 1968 Astrodome
- 33,980 8 2015 TDECU
- 33,602 5 1956 Rice Stadium
- 33,334 3 1957 Rice Stadium
- 33,230 6 1980 Astrodome
- 32,778 6 1981 Astrodome
- 32,584 5 2017 TDECU Stadium
- 31,731 6 2011 Robertson Stadium
- 31,728 6 2010 Robertson Stadium
- 30,367 6 1952 Rice Stadium
- 30,269 6 1982 Astrodome
- 30,127 5 1958 Rice Stadium
- 30,094 5 1991 Astrodome
- 29,838 6 2018 TDECU Stadium
- 29,343 6 1971 Astrodome
- 28,870 5 1983 Astrodome
- 28,450 5 1989 Astrodome
- 28,311 7 2014 TDECU Stadium
- 27,327 6 1984 Astrodome
- 27,247 7 2012 Robertson Stadium
- 27,095 6 1973 Astrodome
- 26,589 6 1990 Astrodome
- 25,242 6 2009 Robertson Stadium
- 24,600 5 1962 Rice Stadium
- 24,375 5 1951 Rice Stadium
- 24,256 6 2013 4 Reliant, 2 BBVA Compass
- 23,634 5 1985 Astrodome
- 23,600 5 1960 Rice Stadium
- 23,276 6 1988 Astrodome
- 23,265 5 1972 Astrodome
- 23,262 5 1987 Astrodome
- 22,580 5 1954 Rice Stadium
- 22,366 5 1992 4 Astrodome, 1 Rice
- 21,518 5 2008 Robertson Stadium
- 21,910 8 2006 Robertson Stadium
- 21,849 6 1975 Astrodome
- 21,807 6 2003 Robertson Stadium
- 21,595 4 1974 Astrodome
- 21,308 5 1994 Astrodome
- 21,200 5 1959 Rice Stadium
- 21,167 5 2004 4 Robertson, 1 Reliant
- 20,872 6 2007 Robertson Stadium
- 20,003 5 1999 Robertson Stadium
- 20,000 4 1963 Rice Stadium
- 20,000 6 1955 Rice Stadium
I have said it before and maybe it is worth mentioning again. When you look at the more traditional schools like UT, Agy,Baylor, TCU, and many others, it is not uncommon to see students representing many generations of family who attended their current University.
Really never has been so at UH…and don’t jump on me, I trained my son to be a Coog and we still attend games years later.
But as a former sports writer, I can’t number of former Coogs I met over the years who had kids and grand kids going to the schools mentioned above, even schools like Texas State, Sam Houston, etc.
I have no problems because ultimately it should be the kids choice.
I think Red hit it on the nail when he said that while we are a diverse bunch, there are a lot of students who could care less about sports.
But right now my answer to our problems is simply to win and become a national power in every sport. Yes, I support our Cougars in both football and hoops and try to make some of the baseball games…I wish I lived closer so I could make all the sports, including women’s softball, soccer and hoops…
But I don’t…end of story…Go Coogs…the few of us around need to continue to support our programs best way you can and hope one day it will catch on with the city of Houston.
But don’t hold your breath…
That is pretty ambitious Butch. I make an occasional baseball game and even less often softball game and that’s it for non football or basketball sports. I just don’t care for watching tennis, women’s BB, track, etc. I may take in a volleyball game some day, but the hassle of getting across town for a sport I really don’t care about is not something I would do, or most people would do for that matter.
Don’t get me wrong, I do want our teams to win in every sport because they are our teams. I would just rather hear or read about it than actually attend. Besides with football and basketball, my schedule of UH events is not lacking.
Mike, you forgot about the UH vs OU in 2016 which was a regular season home game with attendance of 71,016 at NRG.
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