Frontiersmen (University of Houston)
Encyclopedia
The Frontiersmen is a group of students from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...

 that are involved in many university events including athletic games. The Frontiersmen began as a tradition at the university in 1948.

History

The Frontiersmen was established in 1948 as an effort to promote school spirit and support the university in athletic events, Frontier Fiesta
Frontier Fiesta
Frontier Fiesta is a three day event at the University of Houston that takes place on campus every spring semester, usually in the last weekend of March to the first weekend in April...

, and academic success. After years of the Frontiersmen tradition at UH, the Frontiersmen eventually lay dormant for quite some time. In 1990, in an effort to represent the Houston Cougars
Houston Cougars
Houston Cougars is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was created by early physical education instructor of the university and former head football...

 football team better, an oil field siren
Siren (noisemaker)
A siren is a loud noise making device. Most modern ones are civil defense or air raid sirens, tornado sirens, or the sirens on emergency service vehicles such as ambulances, police cars and fire trucks. There are two general types: pneumatic and electronic....

 was implemented at games and was sounded after each score. Manually manning the crank of the siren were members of the Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...

 fraternity. This became known as The Blaze.

In 1992, after Frontier Fiesta was reestablished, three members of Sigma Chi started the Frontiersmen tradition again. After inviting five other men to join them, the Frontiersmen was officially in order. The next year, the Frontiersmen added Wranglers
Wrangler Jeans
Wrangler is a manufacturer of jeans and other clothing items. The brand is owned by the VF Corporation, who also own Lee, JanSport and The North Face, among others. Its headquarters is in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, with production plants in a variety of locations throughout the world...

 and dusters
Duster (clothing)
A duster is a light, loose-fitting long coat.The original dusters were full-length, light-colored canvas or linen coats worn by horsemen to protect their clothing from trail dust. These dusters were typically slit up the back to hip level for ease of wear on horseback and were the recommended...

 as their trademark attire.

Football traditions

Since the Fall of 1994, the Frontiersmen have run the University of Houston flag across the field after each score. In 1996, the Flag of Texas
Flag of Texas
The Flag of the State of Texas is defined by law as follows:The Texas flag is known as the "Lone Star Flag" . This flag was introduced to the Congress of the Republic of Texas on December 28, 1838, by Senator William H. Wharton...

 was added to represent Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 better since UH was the only school from the state in Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...

. Although other Texas schools have joined the conference since then, the tradition has remained.

External links

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