Houston Cougars, TDECU extend naming rights for football stadium to 2034

The Houston Cougars’ home for the football team will continue to be known as TDECU Stadium through 2034, the school announced on Sept. 8.

Houston and TDECU, a nonprofit financial cooperative credit union with over 366,000 members and $4.7 billion in assets, agreed to an over $20 million investment to extend the naming rights.

“TDECU’s partnership has been instrumental to the ascent of Houston Athletics and their renewed commitment only strengthens the foundation for success in the Big 12,” UH president Renu Khator said in a news release. “It’s truly a special opportunity to be aligned long-term with an organization that shares our values and unrelenting will to achieve as we strive to compete and win on the national level.”

The university will have just over $14 million go to the Houston Football Development Center and the remaining funds of the roughly $20 million agreement will spread out to other non-athletic programs across the university, including the Bauer College of Business, UH Athletic Director Chris Pezman said.

Houston and TDECU’s new deal will kick in in 2024 when the original naming agreement from 2014 ends. The new agreement will last for 10 years with a mutual option to add five additional years to the naming rights deal once 2034 rolls around, Pezman said.

“We’ve developed an agreement that allows us to deepen TDECU’s relationship with UH students, alumni and surrounding communities,” TDECU president Isaac Johnson said. “It also helps us win with a historic investment in Houston Athletics.”

The university has raised roughly $50 million, or a third, of the $150 million Houston Rise fundraiser goal, which launched in the summer to aid in competitiveness in the Big 12 Conference, Pezman said. About $40 million has been raised for the new football facility, he said.

In addition to the new football facility, the university has future plans to upgrade TDECU Stadium with features such as improving premium seating, adding more spaces with air conditioning for fans to escape the Houston heat, Wi-Fi improvements and in-seat service, Pezman said.

Houston will enter the Big 12 on July 1, 2023. Pezman said the Cougars have had over 22,000 people secure season tickets and expect it to continue increasing through the season and into 2023.

Pezman’s ultimate goal is to get over 30,000 season ticket holders, he said. Pezman told Gallery Sports just two years prior, the number of season ticket holders had fallen below 15,000.

Houston is seeking to capitalize on the success of the men’s basketball teams in the last few years, the football team in 2021 and the Olympic teams, such as swimming and diving and the track and field team heading into the Big 12, Khator said.

“We’re not joining the Big 12 to play. We’re joining the Big 12 to win,” Khator said.