1983 1989 Houston Cougars – Clyde Drexler Drexler and Young, along with Larry Micheaux and new recruit Hakeem Olajuwon (known then as Akeem Olajuwon), comprised the “Phi Slama Jama” basketball fraternity that gained national attention for its acrobatic, above-the-rim play. New players were “initiated” into the fraternity by having to stand underneath the basket as Drexler drove in from halfcourt …
Washington State Cougars School History
1992 2010 Cougars – Drew Bledsoe Bledsoe had a record-setting career in his three years at Washington State. After gaining the starting job at the end of the 1990 season as a true freshman (joined later by Jeff Tuel as the only two in school history), he quickly became the face of the Cougars’ offense. In 1992 Bledsoe led his …
Carolina Cougars Team History
1969 Relocate to North Carolina The Carolina Cougars franchise began when future Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina Jim Gardner bought the Houston Mavericks and moved them to North Carolina in 1969. At the time, none of North Carolina’s large metropolitan areas–Charlotte, the Piedmont Triad, and the Triangle—was large enough to support a professional team on its own. With this in …
Detroit Cougars Team History
1926 Detroit Cougars Team Formation During a subsequent meeting on May 15, the league approved a franchise to the Townsend-Seyburn group of Detroit and named Charles A. Hughes as governor. Frank and Lester Patrick, the owners of the WHL, made a deal to sell the league’s players to the NHL and cease league operations. The new Detroit franchise purchased the …