Houston Cougars Receive Good News to Spread Brand Awareness

University of Houston Athletics has been a rising name in collegiate sports over the last few seasons. Houston and their fans like to view themselves as the underdogs and a team that can overcome adversity.

Given the location of the university in the heart of the fourth largest city in America and a wide alumni network, it has been thought that the impact of their sports teams would be much higher. There are a couple of factors why, with the first being Houston not being in a power conference since the Southwest Conference dissolved and the Big 12 was founded in 1996.

Houston was not one of the initial Texas teams to join the conference, but finally got the promotion it deserved back in 2023 to finally return to the power conference level. Additionally, Houston has so many other professional and collegiate teams such as the Texans, Rockets, Astros, Rice, and Texas A&M about an hour away in College Station.

The competition is plenty, but Houston’s name has started to break through and become the top collegiate name in the city. While the brand is still not close to Texas or Texas A&M, relatively recent success in football and especially basketball have raised plenty of awareness for the Houston Cougars.

There is still much more work to be done for UH to be one of the highest collegiate brand level recognition in the state, but this latest deal will help the athletic program significantly.

Rise of the Houston Cougars Brand

Houston Cougars basketball court — Jan 2, 2019; Houston, TX, USA; A general view of a logo on the court at Fertitta Center prior to the game between the Houston Cougars and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Mandatory Credit: John Glaser-Imagn Images | John Glaser-Imagn Images

Last week, the University of Houston system selected CLC, the nation’s top collegiate licensing company, to assist in the marketing of Houston’s trademark licensing program.

This is a big deal for Cougars’ fans across the city and state as it is expected to significantly increase the availability of branded school merchandise.

Through a new agreement with CLC, UH will expand its marketplace footprint and evolve its merchandise strategy, bringing innovative, high-quality products to Cougar fans across the country. https://t.co/yxnUGJ5yhP
— UH Media Relations (@UH_News) January 15, 2026

This partnership began on New Year’s Day and can help provide more opportunities to sell and market the school’s athletic brand across sports retailers. With CLC being a division of Learfield, the primary media and technology company behind college athletics as well as the current multimedia rights partner of Houston Athletics, UH is now able to gain access to all of their top data systems, which can provide sales trends and consumer insights.

Houston can use CLC’s relationships with national retailers and licensees to expand their products and market to even more fans and consumers. This will allow for more diverse products and, more importantly, increase the availability of that merchandise to fans. It can create new fans and bring back more alumni that have lost their school spirit.

The reason for this partnership was Houston Athletics’ recent growth as a premier collegiate brand on the rise. Marketing the school’s traditions will also be on a higher level nationally. It’s been a long time coming for Houston.

“Houston is a world-class institution with a storied history that positions it well for growth and participation in elevated merchandise programs,” said Cory Moss, President of Brand Management and Marketing, Learfield/CLC.

Expect the Houston Cougars brand to keep on growing, especially starting in 2026 with more advanced retail programs. When the news was released, fans were excited and appreciative of this development. They want more types of merchandise and are encouraged by the possibility of buying their school’s products as easily as the two big names in UT and A&M.

This is a development worth watching for Houston fans.