Rice Owls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rice Owls | |
 |
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| Athletics founded | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Conference USA |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | |
| University | Rice University |
| Location | Houston, TX USA |
| Stadiums | Rice Stadium Rice Track/Soccer Stadium Jake Hess Tennis Stadium |
| Arena | Autry Court |
| Mascot | Owl named "Sammy" |
| Colors | |
| Homepage | |
The Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls.
Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics and is part of Conference USA. Rice was a member of the Western Athletic Conference before joining C-USA on July 1, 2005. Rice is the second smallest school, measured by undergraduate enrollment, competing in NCAA D-IA football, just above the University of Tulsa's 2,756 and far below the largest, Arizona State University with 48,955. Rice's major sports rivalry is with cross-town University of Houston, also of C-USA.
The Rice baseball team won the 2003 College World Series, defeating Stanford two games to one in the championship series, including a 14-2 rout in the final game. Because of the academic quality of the two finalists, the championship series earned nicknames such as the "RBIs and SATs Series." The victory made Rice University the smallest school in 51 years to win a national championship at the highest collegiate level of the sport. This is Rice's only national championship in a team sport. The Rice baseball team has played on campus at Reckling Park since the 2000 season and is by far the school's top athletic program. (The baseball team has won 12 consecutive conference championships in three different conferences – the final championship of the defunct Southwest Conference, all 10 championships while a member of the Western Athletic Conference, and the championship in its first year as a member of Conference USA.) More recently, Rice's baseball team finished third in the 2006 College World Series. Baseball all-star Lance Berkman is a Rice baseball alumnus. In 2004, Rice became the first school ever to have three players selected in the first eight picks of the MLB draft when Philip Humber, Jeff Niemann and Wade Townsend were selected third, fourth and eighth, respectively.
The on-campus football facility, Rice Stadium, and was the site of Super Bowl VIII and a speech by John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1962 in which he challenged the nation to send a man to the moon by the end of the decade. Rice Stadium opened in 1950 with a capacity of 70,000 seats. After improvements in 2006, the stadium is currently configured to seat 47,000 for football but can readily be reconfigured to its original capacity of 70,000, more than the total number of Rice alumni, living and deceased.[6]
In addition to football, Rice Stadium also serves as the performance venue for the university's Marching Owl Band, or "MOB." Despite its name, the MOB is a scatter band which focuses on performing humorous skits and routines rather than traditional formation marching. Prior to the dissolution of the Southwest Conference, some of the most entertaining half-time shows to watch were during Rice vs. Texas A&M games, if only for the sheer contrast of the pure military precision of the Aggie Band versus the irreverent wackiness of the MOB.
In 2006, the football team qualified for its first bowl game since 1961, ending the second-longest bowl drought in the country at the time. On December 22, 2006, Rice played in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, against the Sun Belt Conference champion, Troy. The Owls lost 41-17. The bowl appearance came after Rice had a 14-game losing streak from 2004-05 and went 1-10 in 2005. The streak followed an internally authorized 2003 McKinsey report that stated football, alone, was responsible for a $4 million deficit in 2002. Tensions remain high between the athletic department and faculty, as a few professors who chose to voice their opinion were in favor of abandoning the football program. Hired in January 2006, new head coach Todd Graham sparked the "Rice Renaissance," the revival of the Owl football program, before he moved on to Tulsa in January of 2007 despite having signed a contract less than 72 hours before leaving. David Bailiff replaced Graham and inherits a team poised to continue the success enjoyed in 2006. Sophomore wide receiver Jarett Dillard set an NCAA record in 2006 by catching a touchdown pass in 13 consecutive games and takes a 15-game overall streak into the 2007 season.
Rice basketball teams won 10 conference titles in the former Southwest Conference (1918, 1935*, 1940, 1942*, 1943*, 1944*, 1945, 1949*, 1954*, 1970; * denotes shared title).
Rice has been very successful in women's sports, sending its women's volleyball, soccer and basketball teams to their respective NCAA tournaments in 2004-05. In addition to Rice Stadium and Reckling Park, on-campus facilities include Autry Court (basketball, volleyball); the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium (track and field, soccer) and the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium (tennis).
Rice's mascot is Sammy the Owl. In previous decades, the university kept several live owls on campus in front of Lovett College, but this has been discontinued.
Rice also has a 14-member coed cheerleading squad and an all-female dance team, both of which perform at football and basketball games throughout the year.
