| Band Name: | The Spirit of Houston Cougar Marching Band |
| School: | University of Houston |
| Location: | Houston, Texas |
| Conference: | Big 12 |
| Founded: | 1947 |
| Director: | Cameron Kubos |
| Members: | 270 |
| Fight Song: | Cougar Fight Song |
The Spirit of Houston consists of the Cougar Marching Band and other 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 is currently under the direction of the “Director of Athletic Bands” and “Spirit Groups”, Cameron Kubos.
The CMB is also known for its characteristic tonal quality, following in the tradition pioneered by Bill Moffit, Robert Mayes, and David Bertman. The band consists of about 270 students, about one-third of whom are music majors. Other past directors include Marc Martin, Troy Bennefield and John Alstrin.
From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the Spirit of Houston was under the direction of Bill Moffit. Moffit is credited with creating the Patterns in Motion marching style made famous during his tenure at UH. He is also well known as an arranger of both traditional band tunes and modern popular songs.
Following the departure of Moffit to Purdue University, Greg Talford became director. Talford, hailing from Michigan, moved the band toward drum corps style, required memorization of all music, and held regular sectionals. Robert Mayes followed Greg Talford, who came to UH after holding positions at Texas Tech and the University of Wyoming, was named the director of the Cougar Marching Band.[1] During his tenure, the band traveled to Japan, England, Ireland, France, and Mexico.
In 2000, David Bertman was hired as the director of the Spirit of Houston. He was charged with the task of maintaining the tradition. The Cougar Marching Band led the University of Houston for the support of the Houston Cougars football team. Following Bertman's promotion to Director of Bands, Troy Bennefield was hired to become the marching band director in 2011. Cameron Kubos became the director of the Spirit of Houston in the summer of 2018. The UH Drumline is currently under the direction of Jamey Kollar.
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.
The Spirit of Houston's primary repertoire includes the following: