2019 Hall of Fame Class to be Inducted on October 25

Rice Athletics will formally enshrine the members of the 2019 Rice Athletics Hall of Fame induction class on Friday, October 25 at The Briar Club in Houston as part of a weekend of activities culminating with the Owls home football game with Southern Miss on October 26.

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The 2019 class features a pair of former first round draft picks, a pair of standouts who led their teams to the NCAA tournament, the members of the Rice's first women's conference championship team and the coach who returned men's tennis to national prominence.

Matt Anderson, who became the first Owl to be the overall No. 1 selection in the Major League Baseball draft in 1997 and Earl Cooper, who was taken the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft will join with the members of the 1994 Southwest Conference women's cross country champions and Lauren Neaves (women's basketball) and Rebeca Pazo (volleyball), who each were three-time MVPs for their teams as members of the 2019 class. Former men's tennis coach Ron Smarr, who closed his career as the winningest coach in collegiate tennis while leading Rice to 10 NCAA appearances and a pair of conference crowns in 15 years on South Main rounds out the class.

Along with the induction of the newest members of the Hall of Fame, the "R" Association will also honor Jeffery Rose '77 and Brett Wagner '83 with the Distinguished R Award, as well as present Rice Associate Director of Academic Advising for Athletics Julie Griswold with the Honorary R Award.

The class will then be honored again the following day with a pregame tailgate and introduced at halftime of the game against Southern Miss.

For additional information regarding the 2019 Rice Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, please contact the Owl Club, 713-348-8425 or by email, riceowlclub@rice.edu.

2019 Honorees (alphabetically)

1994 SWC Women's Cross Country Champions (Hall of Fame)
The 1994 Rice Owls women's cross country squad becomes the second team to be inducted into the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame, joining the 2003 National Championship baseball team, thanks to their milestone victory in the 1994 Southwest Conference Championship. They were the first Rice women's athletics team to win a conference championship, capturing the only women's SWC title in school history, in addition to breaking a 22-year drought for Rice Athletics when they captured the Southwest Conference on Oct. 30, 1994 in Lubbock, Texas.

Under the guidance of head coach Victor Lopez and assistant coach Jim Bevan, 25th ranked Owls edged Baylor 64-65 to capture the crown. Candace Lessmeister (who was inducted as an individual in 2011) was the first Owl to the finish line, placing second, while Stacy Swank came in fourth. Rice's No. 3 runner, Alex Gajewski, went down with a twisted ankle and the team's No. 4 runner Katy Eklof, who had been plagued by injuries, began to fade. But Emily Massad (18th), Lynn Sherry (19th), Riva Rahl (21st) and freshman Sheila Madigan (22nd) responded to hold off Baylor, completing the race within five seconds of each other and passing up Baylor's fifth runner for the victory while Erica Levine bravely fought through breathing problems to finish 39^th and round out the Owls efforts. The victory in Lubbock delivered upon the promise the team had shown the year before when they rebounded from a loss at the SWC Championship to beat Baylor at the regionals and go on to finish 19^th at the NCAA Championship. Additional members of the team included Mary Rebecca Harp, Molly Hooks, and Alexis Smith.

Matt Anderson '98 (Hall of Fame)
Matt Anderson has the distinction of being the first Owl to be the No. 1 pick in the Major League Baseball Draft when he was selected first overall by the Detroit Tigers in 1997. When he made his major league debut with the Tigers during the 1998 season he was one of the ten youngest players in the American League at the time and went 5-1 with a steady 3.27 ERA, while striking out 44 batters in 44.0 innings.

The Louisville, Ky., native made an immediate splash at Rice, going 11-2 with a 2.51 ERA to earn Freshman All-America honors as well as being named the 1995 Freshman of the Year in the Southwest Conference. He again led the staff in wins as a sophomore in 1996 as the Owls went on to win their first conference championship in the history of the program. In 1997 Anderson was again an all-conference pitcher, finishing with a 10-2 record, 2.05 ERA and an eye-opening 105 strikeouts in 79.0 innings while leading lead the program to its first-ever appearance in the College World Series. He finished his collegiate career as Rice's all-time leader in wins (30), saves (14) and appearances (83), and tied the program's single-season records in wins (11) and saves (9).

Earl Cooper '81 (Hall of Fame)
Earl Cooper saw his talents used all over the field while at Rice, rushing for over 500 yards while leading the SWC and finishing 10^th nationally with 47 receptions, and then recognized by the San Francisco 49ers who made him the 13^th pick in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft. Cooper immediately validated the 49er's vision, finishing second in the NFL with 83 receptions as a rookie as San Francisco went on to win its first Super Bowl title. Cooper caught Joe Montana's first career Super Bowl touchdown pass in Super Bowl XVI. Ran nine times for 34 yards and caught two passes for 15 yards and a touchdown as the 49ers defeated Cincinnati 26-21. He would add a second Super Bowl ring three years later in Super Bowl XIV.

He was the Owls MVP in 1979 while serving as a team captain while becoming the first Owl since Dickey Maegle to lead the team in both rushing and receiving in a season. He ended his career ranked second in career touchdowns (22), third in rushing (1,583 yards) and fifth in receptions (101) and points scored (128) and currently ranks third in career all-purpose plays (529), eighth in career all-purpose yards (2,784), 13^th in receptions and 21^st in rushing.

Julie Griswold (Honorary R)
Julie Griswold has been a constant for all Rice student-athletes since she first arrived in Houston in the fall of 1986, shortly after earning her master's degree in higher education student affairs/counseling from Indiana University. It was then she took charge of monitoring the academic progress of more than 350 Rice student-athletes. From those first few years running the academic advising for athletic office single-handedly.

Griswold reports to Rice University's Academic Advising office and works with the divisional advisors of each college to help each student-athlete develop individual academic plans and achieve the ultimate goal of graduation. Since she began her work at Rice, Griswold has seen countless student-athletes receive academic honors including nearly 100 Academic All-Americans. Thanks to her and her staff's hard work, the Owls regularly rank among the top 10 in the nation in total graduation rates for athletes.

A 1981 cum laude graduate from Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio, with degrees in mathematics and education, Griswold has an impressive coaching background, including the prestigious Indiana Girls' Basketball State Championship in 1983. While working on her graduate degree at Indiana University, Griswold served as the Hoosiers' academic graduate assistant (1984-86).

Currently, she is an associate of Hanszen College and serves on the Division of Undergraduate's Diversity and Inclusion Collaborative. Julie is active in City of Refuge Church, bible study groups and has eight nieces and nephews.

Lauren Neaves '06 (Hall of Fame)
One of the best post players to wear the Blue and Gray, Neaves currently ranks first in program history in blocks (289), second in rebounds (1,190), and fourth in scoring (1,711 points). A four-time All-Conference player, Neaves helped guide the Owls to four consecutive postseason appearances, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament after the Owls won the WAC regular season and tournament titles her sophomore campaign.

In her four years at Rice, the Owls went 83-47 (.638) and played in the WNIT her other three seasons. A three-time Hackerman Award recipient (team MVP), Neaves was a first team All C-USA selection as both a junior and senior. As a junior she led the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and ranking 16th in the NCAA in rebounding (10.8 rpg), while earning a spot on the C-USA All-Tournament Team. Neaves was the WAC Tournament MVP in 2005 and was a member of the WAC All-Defensive Team. As a freshman, Neaves blocked 84 shots to earn first team All- WAC honors.

Rebeca Pazo '05 (Hall of Fame)
An offensive force to be reckoned with, Rebeca Pazo remains the Rice career leader with 1,969 kills along with a 4.87 kills per set rate. Pazo was a four-time, All WAC first team selection while leading the Owls to the NCAA Tournament her senior campaign as the Owls won a school record 25 matches.

Pazo earned the Hally Beth Poindexter Award (Team MVP) three times and was named an AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention in 2004. She surpassed 500 kills in each of her junior and sophomore seasons – 547 and 562, respectively – which ranks third and second in a single-season in program history. She also ranks fifth in service aces (140) and seventh in total digs (1,314).

Jeffery Rose '77 (Distinguished R)
Rose lettered three times as a defensive lineman for the Owls, finishing his playing career in 1976. After graduation, he embarked upon on a successful career in the banking industry while also continuing to serve Rice in a number of roles.
A Rice University Trustee Emeriti, Rose is a longtime supporter of the Owl Club and Rice Athletics, has been an active member of the "R" Association, served on the Owl Club Board, served on the ARA board from 1984 to 1987, lent his efforts to the Association of Rice University Black Alumni and was president of the ARA from 2005 to 2006.

In 1984 he became Texas' first African-American president of a major holding company bank when Texas Commerce Bank — Greenway Plaza (now JPMorgan Chase) promoted him and also named him to its board of directors. In 1989 he joined a group of bankers to form Team Bank, which was later acquired by Bank One. Rose returned to Texas Commerce Bank in 1993 as a senior vice president, and three years later he joined the staff of Wells Fargo to renew his interest in commercial banking. From there he spent time as the Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal and later became the Senior Vice President- Director of Loan Review for Banc of California. He currently serves as the Principal Credit Examiner for Amegy Bank and resides in Missouri City, TX.

Ron Smarr (Hall of Fame)
In 15 seasons at Rice, Ron Smarr returned Rice to a place of national prominence in the sport for the first time in nearly 20 years. He led the Owls to 10 NCAA appearances, including nine consecutive appearances from 2001-2011. He won a pair of conference titles and produced eight All-Americans. He was named the National Coach of the Year in 2004 after the Owls reached as high as No. 5 in the national polls and reached the Sweet 16 at the NCAA Championships. His doubles team that season of Richard and William Barker completed a perfect regular season while repeating as the ITA's Doubles Team of the Year.

He concluded his Hall of Fame coaching career in 2012 as the winningest coach in collegiate tennis history and with his induction into the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. Smarr posted an 873-344 record during his career, including a 259-145 mark in 15 seasons at Rice.

Brett Wagner (Distinguished R)
A longtime supporter, Brett has played a crucial role throughout the years in advocating for positive change and growth for Rice Athletics. From his countless meetings with former teammates, coaches, staff members, Athletics directors, Rice University Presidents, and Board of Trustee members, Brett has remained loyal in his commitment to the advancement of Division I athletics at Rice University. He has led the charge in multiple fundraising efforts, most notably creation of the Extra Point Club, the sports interest group that provides additional funding for the football program. He was on the ground floor in implementing the Football Huddle-up reunion, an annual gathering of Rice football lettermen prior to the first home game each season. Through the Extra Point Club, Brett has long been known to host football pre-game tailgates, and even began the weekly football coach's dinner which has morphed into what is today the weekly coach's radio show. Brett was an active supporter and contributor to the creation of an end zone facility which ultimately became the Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center.

Aside from key monetary support for Rice Athletics, Brett has served as a member of the Rice Owl Club Advisory Board, and is currently involved in the efforts of The Brotherhood, an initiative undertaken by former football lettermen to build multi-generational relationships, personally and professionally within and among the Rice Football family. He is often found on the sidelines at practices, games, and is heavily involved with current coaches and players. It's hard to find many within the Rice community that have not been embraced by a large bear hug and a smile from Brett Wagner.

Brett competed for the Rice Football team as a three-year starter at offensive tackle from 1979-1982. He graduated with a B.S. from Rice in 1983 and went on to receive his J.D. from the South Texas College of Law in 1985. He currently resides in Cypress, Texas and is a partner with Doherty Wagner a firm that was a pioneer and continues to specialize in legal malpractice

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