It is widely known that the Houston Texans will be making changes to their uniforms in 2024. The team, from ownership on down, has been as transparent as they can be about that, and it’s no secret that the new look will likely include some form of light blue resembling the Houston Oilers’ uniform color from back in the day.
In case you were unaware, the Tennessee Titans (formerly known as the Houston Oilers) still own the rights to all things Oilers, up to and including the old Oilers uniforms, logos, phrases like “Luv Ya Blue,” and evidently, in their minds, any shade of Columbia Blue that shows up on a Houston sports uniform. The Texans have had to go so far as to claim that their version of light blue is actually called “H-town Blue.”
In short, the Titans appear to be unhappy that the Texans are even coming close to replicating the Columbia shade of blue. Well, go ahead and the University of Houston to the Titans’ (and, in turn, the NFL’s) crosshairs.
Back on September 2, in their season opener, the Coogs wore some pretty snazzy uniforms that were quite clearly an homage to the Oilers’ “Luv Ya Blue” days. In the realm of fun, it was a great idea. In the realm of legality, it would appear, not so much. According to Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle, who was able to get a copy of a letter from the NFL to the University of Houston through an open records request, the league has demanded that the school cease and desist with wearing, selling, or promoting anything “Luv Ya Blue” style:
“In a letter obtained by the Houston Chronicle through an open records request, an attorney for the NFL threatened legal action if the university did not immediately stop what the league described as UH’s ‘blatant copying’ of the Oilers-inspired throwback jerseys. It also demanded that the university discontinue all sales of merchandise and remove any promotional campaign or social media posts that feature the popular light blue, or Columbia blue, with red stripes color scheme and design.
The NFL said UH’s decision to wear the throwback jerseys for the Sept. 2 season opener against UTSA came nearly seven months after it explicitly informed Patrick Mulligan, UH’s executive director for brand management, licensing and trademarks, and Lisa Holdeman, UH’s vice chancellor/vice president for marketing and communications, that ‘we did not consent to the Houston Cougars’ use of the uniform at issue or any similar designs.'”
For what it’s worth, the school has not sold any of the Oiler style merchandise, due to licensing complications, and they’ve acquiesced to scrubbing their social media of references to and images of these uniforms, so the school appears to be complying with the NFL’s request.
For those wondering, “Why should the Titans care? They’re not the Oilers anymore!” Well, the Adams family still owns the team, and they have the Oiler uniform design in vice lock grip. Hell, the team still dons the Oiler uniforms on occasion, including this past Sunday against Atlanta, and in the upcoming Week 15 against, you guessed it, the Houston Texans!
While I find much of this hemming and hawing over a color scheme to be a little silly, and while I am also on Houston’s side of any argument against the state of Tennessee, I can’t help but think it would be hilarious if the Titans gave the go ahead for Nashville-based Vanderbilt University to wear “Luv Ya Blue” uniforms.
It makes as much sense as the Titans wearing them.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
