University of Houston decides to use Oilers theme on football uniforms despite NFL threats

The University of Houston will use powder blue alternate uniforms for its football team, reversing a previous choice to shelve the look under threat from the NFL.

The specific shade Columbia blue, along with red and white striping, is associated with the NFL’s Houston Oilers, who moved to Tennessee and played as the Tennessee Oilers in 1997 and 1998 before becoming the Tennessee Titans in 1999.

The Titans still own the Oilers’ records and have their own Oilers-themed alternate uniforms.

The University of Houston had initially given up on the alternate light blues for its Cougars after opprobrium from the NFL, which sent a cease-and-desist letter.

“The Houston Cougars’ attempt to free ride on the popularity of the NFL and the clubs violates the intellectual property rights of the NFL and the Titans,” league attorney Bonnie Jarrett wrote to the school in an Oct. 11 letter, according to Houston Public Media, which is operated by the University of Houston.

Since then, however, the school has reevaluated its legal standing regarding the look.

“This isn’t a reach. This is a layup. We’ve got a very defensible position. We’re doing it. We’ve reviewed everything and come to the conclusion that we are going to proceed. We’re giving them two or three weeks to respond. We’re waiting on a response to see if we get one,” University of Houston Athletic Director Chris Pezman told the Houston Chronicle.

The university’s planned uniforms use a shade of light blue slightly different from the Columbia blue used by the Oilers, and striping that had been similar to the old Oilers look will be changed, Mr. Pezman added.

Mr. Pezman told the Chronicle that a timetable for officially introducing the blue jerseys does not exist yet, but that they might be used for home games against opponents from elsewhere in Texas.

Houston eventually got a new NFL team, the Texans, in 2002, playing in the AFC South division as a rival to the Titans.

This past season, the Titans used their own Oilers throwbacks in a game in Nashville against the Texans, even using the catchphrase “Luv ya Blue,” popularized by the Bum Phillips-coached Oilers teams of the late 1970s.

The Texans won that meeting in overtime, 19-16.