How UH decided on a SLAB entrance for the Cougars' football team. 'We needed to be Houston'

Smoke began filling the tunnel inside TDECU Stadium.

Lil' Flip's "The Way We Ball" provided the soundtrack.

A red Cadillac rolled down the tunnel, followed by the University of Houston football team.

For years, college football programs from coast to coast have searched for the perfect pregame entrance - something memorable, something unique, something that gets people talking.

"We needed to be different," said Alundis Pledge, UH's associate athletics director for fan engagement. "We needed to be Houston ."

This summer, UH's athletic marketing team began to research other pregame entrances, from Virginia Tech 's "Enter Sandman" to Oregon 's mascot Puddles riding a custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

For decades, the Houston-born custom-car tradition has been closely tied to the city's hip-hop culture.

SLAB is commonly said to stand for "slow, loud and bangin'."

"What other school in the country could do this?" Pledge said. "You know the SLAB cars are a Houston thing. This is going to set us apart."

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What happened next became one of the most talked-about moments from Week 1 of the football season.

"I loved what happened down in Houston," Pat McAfee said on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show." He added the rims "are classic Houston."

For Pledge and UH's marketing team, the entrance was the result of two months of brainstorming and research. They had been tasked to come up with something fresh that aligned with the rollout of the athletic department's "Built by Houston" campaign.

Pledge said "multiple concepts" were considered, including which song would accompany the entrance.

"This is what we landed on, and it stuck," Pledge said.

They looked at 16 different SLAB accounts and swanga makers on social media, searching for the right car and the right look before partnering with Texan Wire Wheels.

The 1979 Cadillac LeCab features 15-inch G20 wheels with signature 30-spoke chrome swangas hanging off the rims.

"The wheels are a big part of Houston culture," said John Davis, marketing director for Texan Wire Wheels. "It's a cornerstone for Houston culture, just as much as the UH Cougars are."

Some logistical concerns remained. School officials brought the car onto campus two or three times to see if it fit in the tunnel. Player safety was also a concern, along with any potential damage to the turf. Three extra patches of turf were placed to the left of the tunnel where the car could briefly park. "And we needed it to be red for first game," Pledge said.

Head coach Willie Fritz eventually signed off, giving the project the green light.

"Up until Monday, I wasn't 100% sure that we were actually going to be able to pull it off," Pledge said.

They did. The entrance quickly spread across social media.

"In a world of fakes, always be authentic," UH men's basketball assistant coach Kellen Sampson posted on X, formerly the website known as Twitter. FanSided included the SLAB entrance among its "Top 25 things you missed from a wild Week 1 in college football."

But UH wasn't taking anything for granted.

"We were fully prepared to have to pivot and try and go back to the drawing board after Game 1," Pledge said.

The SLAB will be part of UH's pregame entrance for the remaining five home games, including Saturday against Southern.

There could be a few surprises along the way, depending on the color of the Cougars' jerseys.

Night games should provide an even better backdrop, with the tunnel's red lighting adding to the effect.

Some UH players didn't even know the SLAB was coming until after they reached the field.

Running back Re'Shaun Sanford II said the SLAB and Houston "have the same vibe."

Latreveon McCutchin remembered the old entrance.

"I'm used to the little football helmet," the outside linebacker said of the motorized helmet that has been a feature on game days. "It's definitely a big upgrade."