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Rice Owls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rice Owls | |
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| University | Rice University |
|---|---|
| Conference | Conference USA |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Chris DelConte |
| Location | Houston, TX |
| Varsity teams | 16 |
| Football stadium | Rice Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Autry Court |
| Baseball stadium | Reckling Park |
| Mascot | Owl named "Sammy" |
| Nickname | Owls |
| Fight song | Rice Fight Song |
| Colors | Blue and Gray
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| Homepage | www.riceowls.com |
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 charter member of the Southwest Conference until its breakup in 1996 . Rice then 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 cross-town University of Houston, also of C-USA.
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The Rice baseball team is currently the school's top athletic program and one of the NCAA's top baseball programs, having won its conference the last twelve consecutive seasons stretching back to the final Southwest Conference championship. The Owls won the College World Series in 2003. More recently, Rice's baseball team has finished third in both the 2006 and 2007 College World Series tournaments. Rice now has made six appearances to Omaha for the CWS. The team has played at Reckling Park on campus since the 2000 season.
Rice has produced several Major League Baseball players, including all-star Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros and David Aardsma of the Chicago White Sox. In 2004 , Rice became the first school ever to have three players selected in the first round of the MLB draft when Philip Humber, Jeff Niemann and Wade Townsend were selected third, fourth and eighth, respectively. In 2007, Joe Savery was selected as the 19th overall pick.
The Owls play at an on-campus football facility, Rice Stadium, 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 readily be reconfigured to its original capacity of 70,000[1], more than the total number of Rice alumni, living and deceased[2].
The Owls began playing football in 1919 as a member of the Southwest Conference. They played at what is now the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium until 1950, when Rice Stadium was completed. At first, Rice was competitive with the larger public schools they played against, but over time, the program stagnated. However, 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.
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). Most recently, guard Morris Almond was drafted in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.
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, with five individuals competing in 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 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, 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.
| Facility | Sport(s) | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Rice Stadium | Football | 70,000 |
| Autry Court | Basketball, volleyball | 5,000* |
| Reckling Park | Baseball | 5,234 |
| Rice Track/Soccer Stadium | Soccer, track and field | 5,000 |
| Jake Hess Tennis Stadium | Tennis | 1,400 |
| Rice Pool | Swimming | 300 |
* - Currently undergoing major renovation
- The Rice Football Webletter, a long-running Rice fan site.
- The R Association, a group formed in 1913 to support Rice athletics.
- Rice Owls Official Athletics Website, hosted by CSTV
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| West Division | |
| East Division | |
| Soccer-Only Members |
Kentucky Wildcats (men's) • South Carolina Gamecocks (men's) • Florida International Golden Panthers (men's) • Colorado College Tigers (women's) |
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|---|---|
| Baseball | MLB: Houston Astros, CBL: Bay Area Toros |
| Basketball | NBA: Houston Rockets, WNBA: Houston Comets, ABA: Houston Takers |
| Football | NFL: Houston Texans, IFL: Katy Ruff Riders, af2: Texas Copperheads, APFL: Conroe Storm, WPFL: Houston Energy |
| Soccer | MLS: Houston Dynamo |
| Hockey | AHL: Houston Aeros |
| Tennis | WTT: Houston Wranglers |
| College athletics (NCAA Division I) |
Houston Cougars • Rice Owls • TSU Tigers |