Rice Owls
Encyclopedia
The Rice University
athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest.
Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics and is part of Conference USA
. Rice was a member of the Southwest Conference until its breakup in 1996. Rice then joined the Western Athletic Conference
before joining C-USA on July 1, 2005. Rice is the second smallest school competing in NCAA Division I FBS football measured by undergraduate enrollment, just above the University of Tulsa
's 2,756. Rice's major sports rivalry is with the University of Texas, and cross-town University of Houston
, also of C-USA, is another rival.
in 2003 and finished third in both the 2006 and 2007 College World Series tournaments. Rice now has made seven appearances in Omaha for the CWS. The team has played at on-campus Reckling Park
since the 2000 season.
, which 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 be readily reconfigured to its original capacity of 70,000, more than the total number of Rice alumni, living and deceased.
The Owls began playing football in 1919 as a member of the Southwest Conference. They played at the site of what is now the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium
until 1950, when Rice Stadium was completed. During its first 40 years, Rice's football program was a regional and national powerhouse. By the early 1960s, the program found it difficult to compete against schools that were ten times its size or more. In 2006, the football team played in the New Orleans Bowl
, the first time the team had gone to a bowl game since 1961, ending the second-longest bowl drought in the country at the time.
The Rice Owls play in the Western Division of Conference USA and are currently coached by David Bailiff
.
The Rice Owls finished the 2008 Regular season with a 9-3 overall record (7-1 C-USA)--the first time they won more than seven games in over 40 years—and accepted a bid to play against Western Michigan University
in the Texas Bowl
on December 30 where they came away with a 38-14 victory for their first bowl victory since 1954.
At the end of the 2008 season wide receiver Jarett Dillard
was named a 2nd Team All-American by the Football Writers Association, the first Rice Owl selected in 50 years. He has also been named an All-American by Sports Illustrated
, CBSSports.com (where he was joined by fellow owls Chase Clement and James Casey), and Walter Camp.
, 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, the MOB had a lesser rivalry with the "Fightin' Texas Aggie Band
" from Texas A&M
.
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 practice has been discontinued.
Rice also has a fourteen member coed cheerleading
squad and an all-female dance team, both of which perform at football and basketball games throughout the year.
Fight Song: Rice Fight
Alma Mater: Rice's Honor:
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest.
Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics and is part of Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
. Rice was a member of the Southwest Conference until its breakup in 1996. Rice then joined the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
before joining C-USA on July 1, 2005. Rice is the second smallest school competing in NCAA Division I FBS football measured by undergraduate enrollment, just above the University of Tulsa
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
's 2,756. Rice's major sports rivalry is with the University of Texas, and cross-town University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, also of C-USA, is another rival.
Baseball
The Rice baseball team is the school's top athletic program and one of the NCAA's top baseball programs, having won its conference the 15 of the last 16 consecutive seasons stretching back to the final Southwest Conference championship in 1996. Owls won the College World SeriesCollege World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
in 2003 and finished third in both the 2006 and 2007 College World Series tournaments. Rice now has made seven appearances in Omaha for the CWS. The team has played at on-campus Reckling Park
Reckling Park
Reckling Park is the baseball stadium at Rice University in Houston, Texas, USA. It serves as the home field of the Rice Owls baseball team. The stadium was built on the site of Cameron Field, Rice's home from 1978-99, in time for the 2000 season...
since the 2000 season.
Football
The Owls play at an on-campus football facility, Rice StadiumRice Stadium
Rice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950 and hosted Super Bowl VIII in 1974....
, which was the site of Super Bowl VIII
Super Bowl VIII
Super Bowl VIII was a professional American football game played on January 13, 1974 at Rice Stadium. in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 1973 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Miami Dolphins defeated the National Football...
and a speech by John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
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 be readily reconfigured to its original capacity of 70,000, more than the total number of Rice alumni, living and deceased.
The Owls began playing football in 1919 as a member of the Southwest Conference. They played at the site of what is now the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium
Rice Track/Soccer Stadium
Rice Track/Soccer Stadium is a stadium in Houston, Texas. It is primarily used for track and field and soccer for the Rice University Owls. It sits on the location of Rice Field, Rice's old football stadium that was used prior to the opening of Rice Stadium in 1950. The venue held less than 37,000...
until 1950, when Rice Stadium was completed. During its first 40 years, Rice's football program was a regional and national powerhouse. By the early 1960s, the program found it difficult to compete against schools that were ten times its size or more. In 2006, the football team played in the New Orleans Bowl
New Orleans Bowl
The New Orleans Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2001. The game was sponsored by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from 2002 to 2004 and was officially called the Wyndham New...
, the first time the team had gone to a bowl game since 1961, ending the second-longest bowl drought in the country at the time.
The Rice Owls play in the Western Division of Conference USA and are currently coached by David Bailiff
David Bailiff
- References :...
.
The Rice Owls finished the 2008 Regular season with a 9-3 overall record (7-1 C-USA)--the first time they won more than seven games in over 40 years—and accepted a bid to play against Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
in the Texas Bowl
Texas Bowl
The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, formerly known as the Texas Bowl, is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that was held for the first time in 2006 in Houston, Texas. The bowl replaced the now-defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005...
on December 30 where they came away with a 38-14 victory for their first bowl victory since 1954.
At the end of the 2008 season wide receiver Jarett Dillard
Jarett Dillard
Jarett Juma Porter Dillard is an American football wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football for Rice. He is also the cousin of Rutherford's LeRon Dillard.-College career:...
was named a 2nd Team All-American by the Football Writers Association, the first Rice Owl selected in 50 years. He has also been named an All-American by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, CBSSports.com (where he was joined by fellow owls Chase Clement and James Casey), and Walter Camp.
| Bowl Game History | Result |
|---|---|
| 1938 Cotton Bowl Classic | Rice 28 Colorado Colorado Buffaloes The University of Colorado Boulder sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's team are called the Buffaloes or Golden Buffaloes . "Lady Buffs" referred to the women's teams beginning in the 1970s, but was officially dropped in 1993... 14 |
| 1947 Orange Bowl | Rice 8 Tennessee Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the National Collegiate Athletic Association college sports teams at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. Mike Hamilton is the most recent Men's Athletic Director, but resigned on June 7, 2011, and Joan Cronan is the current Women's... 0 |
| 1950 Cotton Bowl Classic | Rice 27 North Carolina North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State... 13 |
| 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic | Rice 28 Alabama 6 |
| 1958 Cotton Bowl Classic | Rice 7 Navy Navy Midshipmen The United States Naval Academy sponsors 30 varsity-sports teams and 12 club-sports teams . Both men's and women's teams are called Navy Midshipmen or "Mids"... 20 |
| 1961 Sugar Bowl Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009... |
Rice 6 Ole Miss Ole Miss Rebels University of Mississippi sports teams, originally known as the "Mississippi Flood" , were re-named the Rebels in 1936 and compete in the twelve-member Southeastern Conference of the NCAA's Division I. The school's colors are cardinal red and navy blue , purposely chosen to mirror the school... 14 |
| 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl Bluebonnet Bowl The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 1959 through 1967, and again in 1985 and 1986. The game was... |
Rice 7 Kansas Kansas Jayhawks The sports teams at the University of Kansas are known as the Jayhawks. They are one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a member of the Big 12 Conference... 33 |
| 2006 New Orleans Bowl New Orleans Bowl The New Orleans Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2001. The game was sponsored by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from 2002 to 2004 and was officially called the Wyndham New... |
Rice 17 Troy Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans were a Major League Baseball team in the National League for four seasons from 1879 to 1882. Their home games were played at Putnam Grounds , Haymakers' Grounds , and Troy Ball Clubs Grounds , all in the upstate New York city of Troy. Overall, the franchise won 131 games and lost... 41 |
| 2008 Texas Bowl Texas Bowl The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, formerly known as the Texas Bowl, is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that was held for the first time in 2006 in Houston, Texas. The bowl replaced the now-defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005... |
Rice 38 Western Michigan Western Michigan Broncos The Western Michigan Broncos are a NCAA Division I FBS team representing Western Michigan University. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's baseball, basketball, football, soccer and tennis; and women's basketball, cross-country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and field,... 14 |
Men's basketball
Rice's men's basketball teams won 10 conference titles in the former Southwest Conference (1918, 1935*, 1940, 1942*, 1943*, 1944*, 1945, 1949*, 1954*, 1970; * denotes shared title). Most recently, guard Morris Almond was drafted in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.Other sports
Rice has been very successful in women's sports in recent years. In 2004-05, Rice sent its women's volleyball, soccer, and basketball teams to their respective NCAA tournaments. In 2005-06, the women's soccer, basketball, and tennis teams advanced, and five individuals competed at the national championships in outdoor track and field. In 2006-07, the Rice women's basketball team made the NCAA tournament, while four Rice women's outdoor track and field athletes received individual NCAA berths, two of them earning All-America honors. In 2008-09, the Rice women's volleyball team went to NCAA playoffs again, where they played Wichita State in 08 and TCU 09.Traditions
In addition to football, Rice Stadium also serves as the performance venue for the university's Marching Owl BandMarching Owl Band
The Marching Owl Band is the Rice University "marching band" in the sense that it is the official ensemble that performs during football games, some basketball games, parades, and other public events...
, 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, the MOB had a lesser rivalry with the "Fightin' Texas Aggie Band
Fightin' Texas Aggie Band
The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band is the official marching band of Texas A&M University. Composed of over 300 men and women from the school's Corps of Cadets, it is the largest military marching band in the world...
" from Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
.
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 practice has been discontinued.
Rice also has a fourteen member coed cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
squad and an all-female dance team, both of which perform at football and basketball games throughout the year.
Fight Song: Rice Fight
- Fight for Rice, Rice fight on, loyal sons arise.
- The Blue and Gray for Rice today, comes breaking through skies.
- Fight, fight, fight!
- Stand and cheer, Vict'ry's near [often replaced with 'Drink more beer'], Sammy leads the way.
- Onward go! to crush the foe, we'll fight for Blue and Gray.
Alma Mater: Rice's Honor:
- All for Rice's Honor, we will fight on.
- We will be fighting when this day is done.
- And when the dawn comes breaking,
- We'll be fighting on, Rice, for the Gray and Blue.
- We will be loyal, to Rice be true.
Facilities
| Facility | Sport(s) | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Rice Stadium Rice Stadium Rice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950 and hosted Super Bowl VIII in 1974.... |
Football | 70,000 |
| Tudor Fieldhouse | Basketball, volleyball | 5,000 |
| Reckling Park Reckling Park Reckling Park is the baseball stadium at Rice University in Houston, Texas, USA. It serves as the home field of the Rice Owls baseball team. The stadium was built on the site of Cameron Field, Rice's home from 1978-99, in time for the 2000 season... |
Baseball | 5,000 |
| Rice Track/Soccer Stadium Rice Track/Soccer Stadium Rice Track/Soccer Stadium is a stadium in Houston, Texas. It is primarily used for track and field and soccer for the Rice University Owls. It sits on the location of Rice Field, Rice's old football stadium that was used prior to the opening of Rice Stadium in 1950. The venue held less than 37,000... |
Soccer, track and field | 5,000 |
| Jake Hess Tennis Stadium | Tennis | 1,400 |
| Rice Pool | Swimming | 300 |