This is another spin-off from conversations with athletics. I’ve met with Marketing, Gameday, Athletics Admin, and Lauren Sampson.
The question of funding for CV3 and other spirit groups was raised, but it would probably have to be brought through Cougar Pride and other avenues.
Mods, let me know if this isn’t necessarily allowed.
But alums: if the organization were to detail what they were working on and funds required for it, would y’all be up to contribute towards the cause? It could be rally towels, head wigs, signs made at games, other stuff. This is if gameday stuff isn’t fully covered under UH Marketing/Gameday.
And if there were anything y’all suggest, what would you want to see from student section in general?
The UH players faces blown up big. Maybe not the whole roster, but the starting 5. Shead, Sasser, Mark, Jarace
Jarace is a top 10 recruit. If you had some of those Fat Heads every game that the students could hold up, just showing that students do care that he choose UH
Coogs of CV3 is basically a spirit organization on campus. I started it in 2018, am just a member now given I want to finish up my degree and undergrads should be running it and grad school is busy.
We made a few of those and plan to make one for the whole roster next season. We print and paste them ourselves, about $10 each.
I don’t think there is an issue if people want to give to the CV3 spirit group. Initiatives need funding, if the students are putting the labor and are consistent with the output then I have no qualms about helping support this endeavor
With the meeting’s you have had with the athletic department, admin and other folks, I would surmise yo) are aware of what the university allows in regards to licensing and proprietary issues l. It may start small but with consistency more people will chip in is my belief . Just give everyone the treasurers info in case shenanigans occur .
U of H currently gets all of the money I can presently donate. It looks like there students are already doing a pretty good job. It looks like participation is up coming out of the covid years. Getting into the 12 should do wonders for student engagement.
I appreciate the effort the current students are making to elevate athletics.
So with licensing. I found out the hard way. Made a few things and they got shut down by Learfield. At first, UH was like ‘become a student org and we’ll let you do this’. Six months later I got a legal letter shutting the entire ‘merch’ line down, so we just make it and give it out privately.
Yeah become a student organization like Coog Crew was, so Cougar Pride can takeover what was a vibrant student organziation that was getting students to games and kill the organization within two years. When I graduated in 2012, Coog Crew was a strong student organization with the mission of attending UH sports events and getting student around campus to games and supporting the sports as well. It was the stupidist thing UH Athletics did in taking over Coog Crew under Cougar Pride. It was a really noticeable organization on campus but within two years of me graduating it was gone. UH also somehow managed to destroy the Bleacher Creatures as well becaus they no longer exist either. Still upsets me to this day because some of my fondest and fun memories while being at UH was being in Coog Crew. I understand full well why you are hesitant to become a student organization because afraid UH Athletics will try to do a takeover like they did to Coog Crew.
So, CV3 is actually an official organization. We use it as a recruiting tool and such, cat’s back, other activities that being registered brings.
However, there’s a bit of an informal agreement between marketing and gameday (our advising officers) to never let CV3 be put UNDER athletics. We work with athletics, if we’re being too extreme, we will follow requests/stop. We will help out, etc.
But yeah. Coog Crew is dead. Bleacher Creatures STILL exists, but as an honors only organization. They got mad at me for singing the correct version of Womp Womp, there were more CV3 members in Birmingham than BC was. They did fill out and help them paint up, but it is a friendly rivalry with the same goals.
But yeah, someone from CV3 didn’t like the BC because ‘they thought they were better than everyone else’. They felt entitled to reserved seats behind the goalpost even though they aren’t registered and kicked people out of said seats…
Anyway, Athletics (and I believe L. Sampson too), recognized that CV3 being under Athletics is a worse idea. A partnership is better. It’s worked well and might in the future
It is great that UH Athletics realized they should let you all be your own organization. Sounds like they learned their lesson after what they did to Coog Crew.
The Athletic Department decided it be better if they had control of Coog Crew and absorbed it as part of Cougar Pride itself. My guess in an effort to try to get more Cougar Pride members and money out of students once they graduated. The autonomy of Coog Crew was lost. Coog Crew was a student organization with members voting for President and Vice President and positions like that. Coog Crew was very vibrant and growing with a definite impact on the student population and the student involvement at UH Sports events. It was going strong when I graduated in 2012, then Cougarpride and UH Athletics took control of Coog Crew and within two years it was pretty much dead and it no longer exists. If there was a sports event on campus Coog Crew members would be there if not in class. When I was there the softball stadium was rated the toughest place to play in CUSA and that is because Coogs Crew would fill up the first two to three rows of the seats next to the home dugout and be loud and voistrous against opponents. I’ll never forget us getting flipped the bird by an opposing softball team’s outfielder in a game once lol. UH Athletics had a student organziation that was bringing something so positive, and UH made the stupidist decision in trying to absorb it and killed the organization.
Someone from admin needs to step in with Learfield or whoever is shutting down grassroots efforts to raise attendance and school spirit. Talk about shooting oneself in the foot. WTF.
There’s got to be a way for the interests to work for the overall promotion of athletics and building student connection with athletics and school, not just licensing and $$$ in the short term.
That’s infuriating
Edit: Learfield or whomever bullying UH students and alum while LA Rams have stolen ‘Who’s House’ and Arizona St is using a version of the Cougar Paw. WEAK
