Spirit of Houston

The Spirit of Houston Cougar Marching Band
The Spirit of Houston Cougar Marching Band
School	University of Houston
Location	Houston, Texas
Conference	Big 12
Founded	1947[citation needed]
Director	Dr. Cameron Kubos
Members	270
Fight song	"Cougar Fight Song"
Website	uhbandsandspiritgroups.com

The Spirit of Houston encompasses the Cougar Marching Band and various Spirit groups at the University of Houston, including the UH Cheer teams, the Cougar Dolls Dance Team, the UH Feature Twirlers, the Mascots, and the Cougar Brass. The Spirit of Houston operates under the leadership of Cameron Kubos, who serves as the Director of Athletic Bands and Spirit Groups.

The Cougar Marching Band is recognized for its distinctive tonal quality, a tradition influenced by previous directors such as Bill Moffit, Robert Mayes, and David Bertman. The band comprises approximately 270 students, with around one-third being music majors. Notable former directors include Marc Martin, Troy Bennefield, and John Alstrin.

History

From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the Spirit of Houston was led by Bill Moffit, who is credited with developing the Patterns in Motion marching style, which gained prominence during his time at the University of Houston. Moffit was also known for his arrangements of both traditional band music and contemporary popular songs.

After Moffit left to join Purdue University, Greg Talford became the director. Originally from Michigan, Talford introduced drum corps-style elements to the band, emphasized the memorization of all music, and implemented regular sectionals. Robert Mayes succeeded Talford, joining UH after positions at Texas Tech and the University of Wyoming. Under Mayes' leadership, the Cougar Marching Band performed internationally, with trips to Japan, England, Ireland, France, and Mexico.^[1]

In 2000, David Bertman was appointed as the director of the Spirit of Houston, with the responsibility of upholding the established traditions. The Cougar Marching Band continued to support the University of Houston by performing at Houston Cougars football games. After Bertman was promoted to Director of Bands, Troy Bennefield assumed the role of marching band director in 2011. In the summer of 2018, Cameron Kubos became the director of the Spirit of Houston. The UH Drumline is currently directed by Scott Taylor.

In 2004, the Spirit of Houston was featured in the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.^[2]

On November 14, 2015, the Spirit of Houston performed "Gwan" with the Gulf Coast Soul Band, The Suffers, during the football halftime show.^[3]

During the spring 2018 semester, associate director Marc Martin resigned from his position after being found guilty in an investigation conducted by the University of inappropriate behavior toward multiple students.^[4]

On September 24, 2022, the Spirit of Houston performed "Red Alert" alongside Paul Wall and Bun B, during the football halftime show.

Music

The Spirit of Houston's primary repertoire includes the following:

"Cougar Fight Song", the university's official fight song
"Eat 'Em Up", a secondary fight song of the university was originally written by director Bill Moffit, and subsequently used by most other college marching bands today
"The Horse"
"Womp Womp"
“Hustlin’”
"June 27th"

Branch

The UH Cheer team is under the direction of Spirit Coordinator Khristal Harbert and Cheer Coach Tennille Williams.
The UH Cougar Dolls are under the direction of Spirit Coordinator Khristal Harbert and Dolls Coach Tatiana Kane.
The Cougar Brass is the University of Houston's basketball band and is currently under the direction of Cameron Kubos.
The UH Feature Twirlers under the direction of Kayli Mickey-McIntosh.

References

^ "Multi Screen Site" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ "Houston Bands March With Yamaha at Super Bowl XXXVIII". Yamaha. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
^ "Spirit of Houston set to perform with local band the Suffers". 7 October 2015. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
^ "Associate Band Director Resigns After Allegations of "Inappropriate Behavior" with Students". 17 August 2018.

External links

[1] "Multi Screen Site" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[2] "Houston Bands March With Yamaha at Super Bowl XXXVIII". Yamaha. Retrieved 2009-05-19.

[3] "Spirit of Houston set to perform with local band the Suffers". 7 October 2015. Retrieved 2016-07-13.

[4] "Associate Band Director Resigns After Allegations of "Inappropriate Behavior" with Students". 17 August 2018.

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v t e Houston Cougars football
Venues	Robertson Stadium (1946–1950, 1998–2012) Rice Stadium (1950–1964) Houston Astrodome (1965–1997) Reliant Stadium (2013) BBVA Compass Stadium (2013) TDECU Stadium (2014–present)
Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Baylor Rice SMU Texas Tech Tulsa
Culture & lore	Shasta "Cougar Fight Song" Spirit of Houston Veer option The Comeback Victory 2022 SMU game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Houston Cougars men's basketball
Venues	Sam Houston Coliseum (select games; 1937–19??) Jeppesen Gymnasium (1946–1966) Delmar Fieldhouse (1966–1969) Fertitta Center (1969–present) Health and Physical Education Arena (2017–2018)
Rivalries	Rice SMU
Culture & lore	Shasta Phi Slama Jama Game of the Century "Cougar Fight Song" Spirit of Houston
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Houston Cougars women's basketball
Venues	Fertitta Center (1975–present) Health and Physical Education Arena (2017–2018)
Rivalries	Rice
Culture & lore	History Shasta "Cougar Fight Song" Spirit of Houston
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States
Artists	MusicBrainz