Athletics Director Digest » December 16
12/17/2019 9:13:00 AM | Athletics Director Digest
An inside look to Rice Athletics happenings with Joe Karlgaard
Our student-athletes are wrapping up their final exams and before everyone at Rice Athletics takes a short break to celebrate the holidays, I want to recap some of the highlights as our fall sport seasons concluded over the past several weeks.
First off, I want to congratulate Tina Langley, Erica Ogwumike and Nicole Lennon for their nominations as part of the Houston Sports Awards, which will take place on January 21, 2020 at the Hilton Americas Hotel. Coach Langley is a nominee for Coach of the Year along with Astros manager A.J. Hinch, Texans head coach Bill O'Brien and the University of Houston men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson. Erica and Nicole are nominated for College Athlete of the Year along with Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts and Houston's Corey Davis. To have three representatives of our program nominated for awards at this event is indicative of the success our women's programs have enjoyed.
Genny Volpe's volleyball team saw their season close in the second round of the NCAA Championship in College Station, but not before recording the program's first win at the NCAA tournament with a sweep of Oklahoma in the opening round. They dropped a tough four-set match to Texas A&M the following night, but nothing summed up the fight and determination of this team more than the dramatic rally they staged to win the first set against the Aggies. Down 15-4, the Owls stormed back to win 28-26. The grit these ladies demonstrated during the comeback was the hallmark of this team and something I will never forget.
Fittingly, four members of the team (Anota Adekunle, Lee Ann Cunningham, Nicole Lennon and Grace Morgan) earned spots on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Southwest All-Region Team. The four selections matches the 2008 Owls for the most in school history and is tied for the most selections in any region this year.
On the gridiron, Mike Bloomgren's football team also closed with a flourish, winning its final three games to send our senior class out on a high note and our coaches on the recruiting trail with tangible evidence of the improvement this team has made. The Owls made a 120-point improvement in the score differential among the seven common opponents from 2018 to 2019, and our total defense average was the second best since 2000.
Blaze Alldredge not only led us in tackles this year and tied for second in the nation in tackles for loss, he was also one of only two players named both first team All-Conference USA and Conference USA Football All-Academic.
Speaking of the recruiting trail, the results of the hard work Coach Bloomgren's staff has put in will be revealed on the first day of the NCAA's early signing period this Wednesday. Look for an official announcement early that afternoon, and be sure to mark your calendars for February 5, when we will announce the remainder of the football recruiting class and have an event for fans to learn about the class from our coaches.
Both of our cross country teams concluded their seasons by finishing fifth at their respective NCAA Regionals, and Grace Forbes became the second freshman in school history to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championship after finishing sixth at the regional. She went on to have the 10th fastest time by a freshman at the championship and finished 87th in a field of 252 runners.
Our men's and women's basketball teams returned to action this past weekend with wins and we have one final and very special home game before we break for the holidays.
We will be hosting our seventh annual Schoolhouse Mania game on Thursday when the men's basketball team hosts St. Thomas at 11:15 a.m. This annual event was the brainchild of Shu Muthyala, our Associate AD of Annual Giving, and we discussed its origins in our last podcast. It brings over 3,000 grade school students to Tudor Fieldhouse for an educational field trip along with the fun of watching a college basketball game. It is definitely a college basketball atmosphere like no other.
If you are planning on joining us Thursday afternoon or over the next several weeks, keep in mind that the traffic patterns for both cars and pedestrians around Tudor Fieldhouse have been temporarily altered by the next stage of construction on the Inner Loop. The segment of road directly in front of Tudor will be closed through early January as the work around the new opera house is completed. Our ticket sales staff will be emailing our season ticket members with more information, and we appreciate your patience during this short interruption.
We introduced a new feature during the basketball games last weekend. Kids Court involves pregame and halftime fun for fans and families to participate in with inflatables, games, and more. Kids Court will continue for each Saturday in the new year at men's and women's basketball games. We hope to see you there and you can even host birthday parties with family and friends, just contact the ticket office by calling or texting (713) 348-6957.
As we near the close of the year, I'd like to remind you that all charitable giving to Rice Athletics, whether the Owl Club or one of our Sports Interest Groups, must be completed by 11:59 PM CT on Tuesday, December 31st to receive tax credit for the 2019 calendar year. On Giving Tuesday, we saw lots of positive momentum thanks to over 550 donors who made a gift to the Owl Club. I hope we can build on that momentum in December to finish 2019 on a strong note!
Additionally, if you want to participate in a fun promotion over the next several days through the holiday season, I encourage you to visit our 12 Days of Giveaways from Sammy The Owl! Each day we're giving away a free prize to our Rice Family to spread happiness and cheer!
Have a terrific holiday, and I look forward to seeing you in 2020!
DONATE TO OWL CLUB 12 DAYS OF GIVEAWAYS
First off, I want to congratulate Tina Langley, Erica Ogwumike and Nicole Lennon for their nominations as part of the Houston Sports Awards, which will take place on January 21, 2020 at the Hilton Americas Hotel. Coach Langley is a nominee for Coach of the Year along with Astros manager A.J. Hinch, Texans head coach Bill O'Brien and the University of Houston men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson. Erica and Nicole are nominated for College Athlete of the Year along with Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts and Houston's Corey Davis. To have three representatives of our program nominated for awards at this event is indicative of the success our women's programs have enjoyed.
3️⃣ @RiceUniversity Owls have been selected as @HOUsportsAwards finalists!@CoachLangley - Coach of the Year
— Rice Athletics (@RiceAthletics) December 12, 2019
Nicole Lennon and @Ogwumi13 - College Athlete of the Year
📰 » https://t.co/zzC41IfEop #GoOwls👐 x #RFND pic.twitter.com/JGBrkd2Seq
Genny Volpe's volleyball team saw their season close in the second round of the NCAA Championship in College Station, but not before recording the program's first win at the NCAA tournament with a sweep of Oklahoma in the opening round. They dropped a tough four-set match to Texas A&M the following night, but nothing summed up the fight and determination of this team more than the dramatic rally they staged to win the first set against the Aggies. Down 15-4, the Owls stormed back to win 28-26. The grit these ladies demonstrated during the comeback was the hallmark of this team and something I will never forget.
Fittingly, four members of the team (Anota Adekunle, Lee Ann Cunningham, Nicole Lennon and Grace Morgan) earned spots on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Southwest All-Region Team. The four selections matches the 2008 Owls for the most in school history and is tied for the most selections in any region this year.
BREAKING: School record-tying 4️⃣ Owls named to @AVCAVolleyball Southwest Region Team!
— Rice Volleyball (@RiceVolleyball) December 10, 2019
🗞 https://t.co/tXgIdrqkO9#GoOwls👐 x #RFND pic.twitter.com/MO7vcKXUlq
On the gridiron, Mike Bloomgren's football team also closed with a flourish, winning its final three games to send our senior class out on a high note and our coaches on the recruiting trail with tangible evidence of the improvement this team has made. The Owls made a 120-point improvement in the score differential among the seven common opponents from 2018 to 2019, and our total defense average was the second best since 2000.
Blaze Alldredge not only led us in tackles this year and tied for second in the nation in tackles for loss, he was also one of only two players named both first team All-Conference USA and Conference USA Football All-Academic.
Speaking of the recruiting trail, the results of the hard work Coach Bloomgren's staff has put in will be revealed on the first day of the NCAA's early signing period this Wednesday. Look for an official announcement early that afternoon, and be sure to mark your calendars for February 5, when we will announce the remainder of the football recruiting class and have an event for fans to learn about the class from our coaches.
Both of our cross country teams concluded their seasons by finishing fifth at their respective NCAA Regionals, and Grace Forbes became the second freshman in school history to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championship after finishing sixth at the regional. She went on to have the 10th fastest time by a freshman at the championship and finished 87th in a field of 252 runners.
Freshman Grace Forbes caps off a stellar season with an 87th place finish (21:07) at the NCAA Championships! #GoOwls👐 x #RFND pic.twitter.com/HgGqoaYuXJ
— Rice TF & XC (@RiceTFXC) November 23, 2019
Our men's and women's basketball teams returned to action this past weekend with wins and we have one final and very special home game before we break for the holidays.
We will be hosting our seventh annual Schoolhouse Mania game on Thursday when the men's basketball team hosts St. Thomas at 11:15 a.m. This annual event was the brainchild of Shu Muthyala, our Associate AD of Annual Giving, and we discussed its origins in our last podcast. It brings over 3,000 grade school students to Tudor Fieldhouse for an educational field trip along with the fun of watching a college basketball game. It is definitely a college basketball atmosphere like no other.
If you are planning on joining us Thursday afternoon or over the next several weeks, keep in mind that the traffic patterns for both cars and pedestrians around Tudor Fieldhouse have been temporarily altered by the next stage of construction on the Inner Loop. The segment of road directly in front of Tudor will be closed through early January as the work around the new opera house is completed. Our ticket sales staff will be emailing our season ticket members with more information, and we appreciate your patience during this short interruption.
We introduced a new feature during the basketball games last weekend. Kids Court involves pregame and halftime fun for fans and families to participate in with inflatables, games, and more. Kids Court will continue for each Saturday in the new year at men's and women's basketball games. We hope to see you there and you can even host birthday parties with family and friends, just contact the ticket office by calling or texting (713) 348-6957.As we near the close of the year, I'd like to remind you that all charitable giving to Rice Athletics, whether the Owl Club or one of our Sports Interest Groups, must be completed by 11:59 PM CT on Tuesday, December 31st to receive tax credit for the 2019 calendar year. On Giving Tuesday, we saw lots of positive momentum thanks to over 550 donors who made a gift to the Owl Club. I hope we can build on that momentum in December to finish 2019 on a strong note!
Additionally, if you want to participate in a fun promotion over the next several days through the holiday season, I encourage you to visit our 12 Days of Giveaways from Sammy The Owl! Each day we're giving away a free prize to our Rice Family to spread happiness and cheer!
Have a terrific holiday, and I look forward to seeing you in 2020!
DONATE TO OWL CLUB 12 DAYS OF GIVEAWAYS
WBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02