Houston Cougars Unveil Space-Themed Gridiron Galaxy Helmets For Built By Houston Game
HOUSTON, Texas (TXAN 24) — The University of Houston is taking its annual Built By Houston football celebration into space, unveiling 10 unique, hand-painted helmets for Saturday’s matchup against UCF.
The Gridiron Galaxy collection represents the solar system, with individual helmets honoring the Sun, eight planets and dwarf planet Pluto. Each design also carries a connection to Houston or the University of Houston.
The helmets become increasingly rare throughout the collection: 45 represent the Sun, followed by 23 Mercury helmets, 19 Venus, 15 Earth, 10 Mars, eight Jupiter, five Saturn, four Uranus, three Neptune and just one Pluto helmet.
The single Pluto helmet is the rarest of the collection.
Houston Athletics says the space theme reflects the city and university’s longstanding connection to human spaceflight. UH has ties to NASA and Johnson Space Center, while the university has developed programs in aerospace engineering, space architecture, Earth and planetary sciences.
The helmets also highlight Houston’s identity through energy, engineering, culture, resilience and exploration. The Neptune design, for example, draws a connection between the planet’s extreme storms and Houston’s history of enduring hurricanes and rebuilding.
Built By Houston is intended as an annual celebration of the people, culture and institutions that define Houston, with a new theme introduced each season.
The Cougars will debut the Gridiron Galaxy helmets Saturday, Oct. 3, against UCF.
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