Who owns the Houston Texans?
The Texans are owned by Janice McNair, the wife of the late Bob McNair, the team's founder. Janice took over the ownership of the team following the death of her husband in 2018.
Born in 1936, Janice grew up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and attended Columbia College, where she met her Bob McNair. When she assumed ownership, she was given the Senior Chair title. Currently, Cal, her son, is the CEO of the Texans. While Cal oversees the day-to-day running of the franchise, Janice represents the team at NFL functions such as the owners' meetings. With a net worth believed to be around $4 billion, Janice is no doubt one of the wealthiest female sports owners in the United States.
Although Janice is best known for owning the Texans, she is also a passionate philanthropist. Together with her husband, they founded the Robert and Janice McNair Educational Foundation to support college education for financially-challenged high school graduates in Rutherford County. in 2019, Janice gave $5 million in donations to a Houston community building project, Pro Vision Inc., and her $1 million contribution to the Houston Rent Relief fund during the COVID- 19 can't go unmentioned.
For a full season schedule for the Houston Texans visit this page.
The Houston Texans is a Houston-based professional American football team. It currently plays in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference's South division. The team first played in the NFL in 2002 as an expansion franchise, following the departure of the Houston Oilers from Houston to Nashville, Tennessee.
Brief History of the Texans
The Oilers played its last match in Houston in 1996 before leaving for Nashville, Tennessee (where it is now known as the Tennessee Titans). This left Houston without a team. As a result, the city launched a lawsuit against the Oilers in 1997 for leaving. However, this wasn't enough to reverse the situation since the team had already decided to move. With Houston lacking a team, Bob McNair, together with Steve Patterson, saw an opportunity to revive football in the city, resulting in the birth of the Texans, which emerged into the NFL when the league officials awarded an expansion franchise to the city in 1999. However, it wasn't until 2002 that the Texans had their first NFL game.
Achievements
While Texans struggled during the 2000s, including finishing last in the first six seasons, its hard work and patience finally paid off when it clinched its playoff berth in the 2011 season, winning the AFC South division championship. Building on its initial success, the team went on to lift the title three more times, including the 2012, 2015, and 2016 editions.
How the Houston Texans Got Its Name
When the NFL awarded Houston a 32nd franchise in 1999, a series of focus groups were tasked with finding a suitable nickname for the new team. After months of research, it was announced that the name search had been narrowed down to five, including the Texans, Stallions, Bobcats, Wildcatters, and Apollos. The team was officially named the Houston Texans on September 6, 2000. The announcement of the name took place at a downtown rally in Houston before thousands of fans. Bob McNair explained that they settled on the name because it embodied the independence, achievement, strength, and pride of the Houstonians.
It is important to note that the name Ravens was previously used by the present-day Kansas City Chiefs, which was called the Dallas Texans back in the day. That's why McNair had to seek the permission of Lamar Hunt, the Chiefs' owner, before adopting the Texans nickname for his team. However, McNair did this out of respect, as Hunt did not have any rights to the name.
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Author: Dan Anderson