1996 Houston Cougars football team

The 1996 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH represented the University of Houston in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the 51st year of season play for Houston and the first season as a member of Conference USA following the breakup of the Southwest Conference. The team was coached by Kim Helton. The team split its home games between the Houston Astrodome and Robertson Stadium. The Cougars became inaugural conference champions and were invited to the 1996 Liberty Bowl, their first bowl game since 1988. Houston won their conference for the first time since 1984.

1996 Houston Cougars football
Conference USA co-champion
Liberty Bowl, L 17–30 vs. Syracuse
Conference	Conference USA
Record	7–5 (4–1 C-USA)
Head coach	Kim Helton (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Neil Callaway (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Gene Smith (4th season)
Home stadium	Houston Astrodome (Capacity: 59,969) Robertson Stadium (Capacity: 22,500)
Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Houston +		4	–	1					7	–	5
Southern Miss +		4	–	1					8	–	3
Cincinnati		2	–	3					6	–	5
Louisville		2	–	3					5	–	6
Memphis		2	–	3					4	–	7
Tulane		1	–	4					2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Houston did not play Rice for the first time since 1970.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31		Sam Houston State*	Robertson Stadium Houston TX		W 43–25	14,110	[1]
September 7	7:00 pm	at No. 17 LSU*	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		L 34–35	80,303	[2]
September 14	6:00 pm	at Pittsburgh*	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 42–35 OT	27,648
September 21	2:30 pm	No. 15 USC*	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	FOX	L 9–26	21,035
October 5		at Southwestern Louisiana*	Cajun Field Lafayette, LA		W 31–24	18,247
October 12	7:00 pm	Memphis	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		W 37–20	15,553
October 19		at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio		L 20–31	19,064
October 26	5:30 pm	No. 9 North Carolina*	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	FOX Sports Net	L 14–42	16,850	[3]
November 2		at Tulane	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 20–17	14,474	[4]
November 9		No. 20 Southern Miss	Robertson Stadium Houston, TX		W 56–49	18,107	[5]
November 16		Louisville	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	FOX Sports Net	W 38–7	19,651
December 27	2:00 pm	vs. No. 23 Syracuse*	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ESPN	L 17–30	49,163
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[6]

Roster

1996 Houston Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 12 Chuck Clements Sr C 66 Ben Fricke Jr RB 23 Antowain Smith Sr WR 84 Justin Davis So QB 15 Tyson Helton Fr WR 32 Halley Spencer Fr OT 79 Marcus Spriggs Sr G 78 Justin Stille Fr QB 13 Brian Thiebaud Fr WR 6 Charles West Sr RB 34 Jermaine Williams Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 46 John Autenreith Sr LB 48 Keon Banks Jr DE 90 Adriano Belli Fr DT 60 Matthew Elam So DT 99 Delondo Fields Jr CB 35 William Fields Fr LB 25 Freddie Fisher So SS 24 Stedmon Forman So DE 93 Rusty Foster Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class KS 97 Sebastian Villarreal Jr	Head coach Kim Helton Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "Clements passes UH past Bearkats". Victoria Advocate. September 1, 1996. Retrieved December 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "RB Faulk lifts LSU". The Tennessean. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "North Carolina swamps Houstin in Astrodome". San Angelo Standard-Times. October 27, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Houston, Villarreal kick Tulane 20–17". Sun Herald. November 3, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Houston slows USM bid". Sun Herald. November 10, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "1996 Houston Cougars Schedule and Results".