Bayou Bucket
Encyclopedia
| Houston (27) | Rice (10) |
|---|---|
| 1971 1973 1974 1976 1977 1978 1979 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1995 1999 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2009 2011 |
1972 1975 1980 1986 1993 1994 2000 2001 2004 2008 2010 |
| On hiatus (3) | |
| 1996 1997 1998 |
|
The Bayou Bucket Classic is an annual college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game between Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
rivals the Houston Cougars
Houston Cougars football
The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...
and the Rice Owls
Rice Owls football
The Rice Owls football team represents Rice University in NCAA Division I college football. The Owls have competed in Conference USA's Western Division since 2005. Rice Stadium, built in 1950, hosts the Owls' home football games.-Venue:...
as a part of the Houston–Rice rivalry. The name of the game is a reference to one of Houston's popular nicknames
Nicknames of Houston
There are many nicknames for the city of Houston, the largest city in Texas and fourth-largest city in the United States. The city's nicknames reflect its geography, economy, multicultural population, and popular culture, including sports and music...
as the Bayou City
Bayou City
Bayou City is a popular nickname for the city of Houston, Texas, founded at the confluence of White Oak and Buffalo Bayous by the Allen Brothers in the early nineteenth century...
. Although a series between the two teams has existed since 1971, an award for the winner of each meeting was not official until 1974. The series signifies a college
College rivalry
Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both academics and athletics, the latter being typically...
and crosstown rivalry
Crosstown rivalry
In sports, a crosstown rivalry is a rivalry between two teams in the same metropolitan area. It is a term primarily used in the United States and Canada. They are called "crosstown rivalries" because in most cases, they are held in large cities or metropolitan areas where each team represents a...
.
From 1999 to 2001 Southwestern Bell
Southwestern Bell
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. It does business as AT&T Southwest and other d/b/a names in its operating region.The company is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas at One AT&T Plaza.-History:...
was the title sponsor for the series, and it was branded as the Southwestern Bell Bayou Bucket Classic. From 2002 to 2005, Houston-based Administaff
Administaff
Insperity, Inc., previously known as Administaff, Inc., is a professional employer organization with its headquarters in Houston, Texas. Insperity provides human resources services to small and medium-sized businesses. Since 2004, the company has been title sponsor of a professional golf...
sponsored the series, and it was branded as the Administaff Bayou Bucket Classic. During the 1996 to 1998 football seasons, the series was on hiatus while the teams realigned themselves with other conferences after the demise of the Southwest Conference. The game for the Bayou Bucket in 1995 was the final game in the history of Southwest Conference football.
Pre–Bayou Bucket Classic
In 1941, Johnny Goyen, then sports editor for The CougarThe Daily Cougar
The Daily Cougar is a daily newspaper run entirely by students at the University of Houston.In publication since April 6, 1928, The Daily Cougar was originally named The Cougar...
, and Jack Valenti
Jack Valenti
Jack Joseph Valenti was a long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America. During his 38-year tenure in the MPAA, he created the MPAA film rating system, and he was generally regarded as one of the most influential pro-copyright lobbyists in the world...
, president of the sophomore class at the University of Houston, began a petition for an official intercollegiate football team at the university. The next year, the two called a student body meeting to organize another petition. This petition's purpose was to challenge Rice Institute
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
(later known as Rice University) to a football game. The Rice Owls
Rice Owls football
The Rice Owls football team represents Rice University in NCAA Division I college football. The Owls have competed in Conference USA's Western Division since 2005. Rice Stadium, built in 1950, hosts the Owls' home football games.-Venue:...
were an established program, having played since 1919 as a member of the Southwest Conference.
During the spring training for the first team, Goyen and Valenti's petition was finally answered, as Houston coach Jewell Wallace
Jewell Wallace
William Jewell Wallace was an American football player and coach in the United States. He served as the head football coach at the University of Houston in its first two football seasons, 1946 and 1947, guiding the Cougars to a 7–14 record. Wallace was a 1934 graduate of Texas Christian...
arranged a small practice game between Rice and Houston. The meeting was to be at Rice. When the team arrived at the field in their practice uniforms, they realized that the game was much more serious. Officials were there, and the stadium was full of spectators. The game ended with Rice demolishing the Houston Cougars. The game had an attendance of 11,000. It wouldn't be until 1971 that the Cougars and Owls competed again.
In the Summer of 1953, Hugh Roy Cullen
Hugh Roy Cullen
Hugh Roy Cullen was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Cullen was heavily involved in the petroleum industry, was a large supporter of the University of Houston, and longtime chairman of the board of regents for the university...
(then chairman of the Houston Board of Regents) met with George R. Brown
George R. Brown
George Rufus Brown was a prominent Houstonian entrepreneur. Brown led Brown & Root Inc. to become one of the largest construction companies in the world and helped to foster the political career of Lyndon B. Johnson. The George R. Brown Convention Center and the George R...
(then president of the Rice Board of Governors), to sign a new contract for Houston to use Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950 and hosted Super Bowl VIII in 1974....
. When asked if there was a discussion about the two universities possibly competing against each other in football, Brown said, "Not since 1950. We discussed it informally then." Cullen said, "They seem to think it would create too much of a rivalry. Our boys out at UH are working boys. They don't have time to fight."
Official play
Houston was accepted into the Southwest Conference for the 1971 season. The first conference game for the team was an away game against the Owls. The game marked not only the first official game played between the teams, but the beginning of a long tradition between the schools. In 1974, the tradition was further solidified by the official naming of the series as the "Bayou Bucket Classic". The 1995 meeting of the teams was the last football game of the Southwest Conference before it was disbanded.Although on hiatus after the demise of the SWC, the rivalry was renewed in 1999. In 2005, the rivalry gained back significance after the Owls joined Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
in which Houston was a charter member. The game was announced to be played at Houston's Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium
Reliant Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Houston, Texas, USA. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500, a total square footage of with of natural grass playing surface....
for the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Game results
|}See also
- College rivalryCollege rivalryPairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both academics and athletics, the latter being typically...
- Houston CougarsHouston CougarsHouston Cougars is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was created by early physical education instructor of the university and former head football...
- List of NCAA college football rivalry games
- Rice OwlsRice OwlsThe Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest.Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics and is part of Conference USA. Rice was a member of the Southwest Conference until its breakup in 1996. Rice then joined the Western Athletic...
- Rice UniversityRice UniversityWilliam Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
- University of HoustonUniversity of HoustonThe University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...