The stadium's record attendance in its final configuration was set at 32,413, when Houston hosted the 2011 Conference USA Championship Game on December 3.

In March 1940 the HISD, who were in control of the university at the time, purchased the undeveloped site for a stadium from the Settegast Estate for $75,550.16.

Public School Fieldhouse (later known as Jeppesen Gymnasium), a multi-purpose indoor arena which was constructed simultaneously, stood alongside.

Prior to the 1957 football season, HISD changed policy at the stadium to disallow any teams with black students to play there despite this being previously allowed without issue.

The team was owned by Bud Adams, a wealthy Houston oilman who upgraded Jeppesen Stadium for professional football use.

This allowed for the largest attendance for the stadium ever of 37,981 when the Dallas Texans competed against the Oilers on December 23, 1962 for that year's AFL title game.

[9] Making national headlines, the NAACP protested HISD's segregation policy in 1961, and formally asked players from the Oakland Raiders to refuse to play the Houston Oilers at Jeppesen Stadium in a regular-season game.

[2] Corbin J. Robertson, former UH Board of Regents member and Athletics Committee Chairman, funded its renovation in 1970, and the stadium was bought for US$6.8 million by the University of Houston.

Beginning with the 1994 season, the Houston Cougars football team began splitting their home schedule with the Astrodome and Robertson Stadium.

The playing surface was lowered nine feet and the running track eliminated to facilitate the addition of new seating on the sidelines and end zones.

The university hired the architecture firm of Leo A. Daly to assess the stadium and develop a plan for the long-term improvement of the facility.

Plans were proposed to replace the end zone sections with an integrated bowl and add an upper deck that would increase capacity to 50,000, but with the athletic department changing leadership from Dave Maggard to Mack Rhoades, a new feasibility study was conducted instead.

[14] On February 1, 2012, Athletic Director Mack Rhoades announced that demolition work would begin at the conclusion of the 2012 season.

On March 8, 2008, the stadium hosted the inaugural Space City Classic, a Houston-area high school all-star game.

The stadium also hosted international rugby games, with 13,000 fans turning out in December 2001 to watch the USA play South Africa.

Other concerts held at the stadium include The Eagles with Jimmy Buffett as warm up in 1977, Pink Floyd during their In The Flesh Tour, and Alice Cooper in 1980.