University of Houston
Trademark: University of Houston
First Used: 1934
Current Owner: UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM [1]
Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark; design mark
Primarily Associated With: educational services and sporting events [2]
Brief (and likely incomplete) History:
March Madness® [3] is winding down and the Final Four® [4] is set. Congrats to the Florida Gators, Duke Blue Devils, Houston Cougars, and Auburn Tigers! The games don’t start until next weekend, but we are getting a jump start at looking at the trademark registrations for the Final Four and each team. Today, let’s look at the trademark portfolio for the Houston Cougars.
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON® [5] and HOUSTON® [6] are both registered trademarks in connection with educational services and sporting events, together with a host of other goods and services.
The most famous Houston Cougars men’s basketball team was from the early 1980s. Led by future NBA stars like Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the team had a ground-breaking style of play that sparked Houston Post writer Thomas Bonk to nickname the team “Phi Slama Jama” based on its ability to dunk over its opponents [7]. Today, PHI SLAMA JAMA® [8] is a registered trademark in connection with entertainment services, namely, providing college athletic and sporting events.
The school also owns a variety of trademark registrations for their logos, including for the UH Design Mark [9], the Cougar Head Design Mark [10], the Cougar Circle Design Mark [11], the Houston Cougars Block Design Mark [12], and the Houston Cougars Cursive Design Mark [13]. The design marks are registered in connection with a variety of goods and services, including apparel, bumper stickers, office supplies, sporting goods and toys, and entertainment services, namely, providing college athletic and sporting events, among others, among others.
Interested in learning more about trademarks from other 2025 sporting events? Check out our 2025 posts on College Football National Championship, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, NBA Finals, WNBA Finals, World Series, and MLS Cup.
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[1] Men’s Basketball, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, https://uhcougars.com/sports/mens-basketball.
[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 747,078, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=72120041&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[3] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,485,443, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74360563&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[4] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,488,836, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73663738&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[5] Id. at 2.
[6] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 5,304,391, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=87080901&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[7] Phi Slama Jama, HOUSTON HISTORY MAGAZINE, posted November 27, 2023, and available at https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/2023/11/phi-slama-jama-texas-tallest-fraternity/.
[8] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,537,874, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76706705&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[9] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,114,675, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76589182&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[10] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,025,462, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76589183&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[11] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,505,519, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76710490&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[12] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,872,304, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76978777&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.
[13] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,872,305, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76978834&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.