Houston Cougars - Rivalries

Rivalries

Houston's most meaningful current rivalry is with cross-town Rice University, which is also a member of Conference USA. The Cougars and Rice Owls compete in football annually for a trophy known as the "Bayou Bucket," referencing one of the city of Houston's nicknames as the "Bayou City."

Historically, the University of Texas at Austin was one of Houston's principal rivals, especially after Houston joined the now-defunct Southwest Conference. This rivalry gave rise to the Houston Cougar Paw tradition.