Houston football rebukes NFL with alternate uniform plan
Houston's football program will go ahead with its plan to wear an alternate powder-blue uniform, despite a demand from the NFL to scratch the plan, the school's athletic director said.
"We're doing it," Houston athletic director Chris Pezman told the Houston Chronicle. "We've reviewed everything and come to the conclusion that we are going to proceed."
Houston has informed the NFL of its decision, but is yet to receive a response as of early Tuesday.
Last fall, the NFL told Houston to stop wearing a uniform inspired by the city's former Oilers franchise, which moved to Nashville and became the Tennessee Titans, and even after its relocation, still wears the occasional throwback uni to pay respect to the Oilers.
"We're giving them two or three weeks to respond," Pezman added. "We're waiting on a response to see if we get one. We literally have a story we can show the city uses it. This isn't a reach. This is a layup. We've got a very defensible position."
The old Oilers wore the powder blue look from 1960 to 1996 before the franchise moved to Nashville and briefly became the Tennessee Oilers in 1997-98, renamed the Titans in 1999.
At that time, the Titans changed their logo and introduced navy blue as the team's primary home uniform color, and last season the team wore the powder blue throwbacks for two games.
Houston's primary football colors are red and white, but the school expects to wear a powder blue look of its own to pay tribute to the city's football heritage.
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JAMES PARKS