Overview
- Houston unveiled the Gridiron Galaxy helmet collection on Saturday and confirmed players will wear the designs at the 12 p.m. ET kickoff against UCF at TDECU Stadium with the game airing on ESPN2.
- The set includes 10 hand-painted helmets created by Armando Villarreal Studios that depict the Sun, the eight planets and dwarf planet Pluto and are meant to look like a journey across the solar system.
- UHCougars.com published how the designs will be distributed by rarity, with 45 players slated to wear Sun helmets, 23 to wear Mercury helmets and a single player assigned the lone Pluto helmet.
- The rollout follows UCF’s Sept. 29 Mission X uniform reveal and builds on UCF’s long-running Space Game tradition and Houston’s win in Orlando last season that interrupted UCF’s perfect Space Game record.
- Both schools are using space-themed gear as a marketing and revenue strategy and the Cougars’ varying helmet rarity is intended to create spectacle, drive media attention and boost merchandise and auction demand.