The 2012 Houston Cougars football team represents the University of Houston in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It is the 67th year of season play for Houston. The season will mark the last for the Cougars as a member of Conference USA as they plan to move to the Big East Conference in 2013. In addition, it will be the final season for the team to host its home games at Robertson Stadium as the university has announced plans to begin construction on its new stadium in December 2012—following the conclusion of the season.[1][2] The 2012 season will be the first full season under head coach Tony Levine as he took over for Kevin Sumlin after his departure following the 2011 Conference USA Football Championship Game.
At one time it was believed that the 2012 season would be the last for the foreseeable future with a Bayou Bucket Classic matchup against the Rice Owls. Both teams had relied on the game being on their respective conference schedules. However, with the Big East Conference move in 2013 for the Cougars, the matchup would have had to been scheduled as a non-conference game. At the time of the Big East Conference announcement, Rice had its non-conference schedule completely booked for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.[3] In April 2012, the two schools announced that they had come to an agreement to extend the series through the 2013 season. The 2012 and 2013 Bayou Bucket Classics will be hosted at Reliant Stadium.[4]
