Athletics Director Digest » December 21
12/21/2020 3:03:00 PM | Athletics Director Digest
Dear Rice Family,
With the end of a fall term like no other, I want to share some reflections on the past several months and celebrate the work of our student-athletes and staff under these most challenging of times. They are one part of an incredible effort on the Rice campus to maintain a level of normalcy as defined in our present environment.
Our campus leadership began the semester dedicated to providing as close to a typical experience for every student. The journey towards the finish line was one that could never have been reached without an adherence to the protocols and placing the good of the greater Rice community above all else.
Everyone has put in an incredible amount of work - much of it behind the scenes--and all are deservedly taking a few days to celebrate the holidays with their families. As part of that celebration, let's take a moment to celebrate Rice.
Our football team fashioned a memorable season out of only five games while never having a game canceled by any internal COVID-19 issues. The shutout win at No. 15 Marshall was an historic moment and one that drew national attention, including this piece in the Washington Post, which named Rice the "gold medal" team of the year. The grit and resolve this team showed when faced with cancellations due to issues on other campuses was exemplary and evidenced on the field as player after player stepped up to fill a role when needed.
There can be no better demonstration of the upward trend of our football program than the success of our coaches in attracting the next generation of student-athletes. As of this writing, the 18 players who signed with Rice during the early signing period ranks as the highest-ranked class in the rankings era, surpassing the finish of our class from last year. This class came together without any visits to campus, and I'd be remiss to not offer a special word of thanks to all the professors and administrators who were readily available to participate in virtual sessions with our prospective student-athletes.
On the morning before football took the field at Southern Miss, Grace Forbes gave Rice its first Conference USA champion of 2020-21 by demolishing the field at the C-USA Cross Country Championship and qualifying for the NCAA Championship in March.
Men's basketball opened by winning its first four game, the best start for the program since 2011, while the women's team scheduled a game at Texas Tech just three days before game day, went into Lubbock and posted their first win over a Power 5 program since 2006.
Our final football game with UAB was our first opportunity to welcome our fans and supporters to Rice Stadium in person, an important step in creating additional opportunities for you to join us this year. Everyone in attendance showed a great willingness to follow the protocols, and that will certainly help our efforts to create similar opportunities for our outdoor sports in the second semester. Indoor sports, as we have seen, present much greater challenges. We will continue to present plans to the Rice Crisis Management team that adhere to protocols while allowing some level of attendance in order to create similar opportunities for our indoor sports.
Experiencing games virtually is counter to the way we all came to love them. While those of us in the department have made athletics our career pursuit, we also are all fans of sports and enjoy the in-person experience as much as you. I am proud of the efforts of our staff to create the best alternative experience during these times, while also knowing how much they look forward to welcoming all of you back in person as soon as we are able.
Speaking of our creative team, if you have not yet seen our new Rice branding video, please take a moment to do so and share it with your friends.
Another vibrant example of the dedication exhibited by our student-athletes is their academic success in the face of the spring shutdown and the disruption of their competitive seasons. Our female student-athletes led the nation in the latest release of Federal Graduation Rate statistics, while eight of our sports posted perfect scores in the latest NCAA Graduation Rate Statistics. You can read more here.
Just in time for the holiday season, Rice Athletics continues to serve our community and has partnered with the College Football Playoff Foundation to distribute $5,000 worth of gift cards from Michael's and Donors Choose to K-12 Teachers at a dozen area schools who were recognized as Teachers of the Year.
As we close this most challenging of years, I want to thank all of you who have made gifts to Rice and Rice Athletics during the 24-Hour Challenge, during which we received the most gifts of any department at Rice. There is still time before the end of the year to make a gift if you have not yet done so.
As we look towards the new year, I am excited to announce that we will be hosting our inaugural "Night of Flight" auction and virtual event on Thursday, April 22nd. I encourage everyone to save the date and be on the lookout for more information in January on what is sure to be a special evening.
Thank you for being part of our Rice Family, and Go Owls!
With the end of a fall term like no other, I want to share some reflections on the past several months and celebrate the work of our student-athletes and staff under these most challenging of times. They are one part of an incredible effort on the Rice campus to maintain a level of normalcy as defined in our present environment.
Our campus leadership began the semester dedicated to providing as close to a typical experience for every student. The journey towards the finish line was one that could never have been reached without an adherence to the protocols and placing the good of the greater Rice community above all else.
Everyone has put in an incredible amount of work - much of it behind the scenes--and all are deservedly taking a few days to celebrate the holidays with their families. As part of that celebration, let's take a moment to celebrate Rice.
Our football team fashioned a memorable season out of only five games while never having a game canceled by any internal COVID-19 issues. The shutout win at No. 15 Marshall was an historic moment and one that drew national attention, including this piece in the Washington Post, which named Rice the "gold medal" team of the year. The grit and resolve this team showed when faced with cancellations due to issues on other campuses was exemplary and evidenced on the field as player after player stepped up to fill a role when needed.
There can be no better demonstration of the upward trend of our football program than the success of our coaches in attracting the next generation of student-athletes. As of this writing, the 18 players who signed with Rice during the early signing period ranks as the highest-ranked class in the rankings era, surpassing the finish of our class from last year. This class came together without any visits to campus, and I'd be remiss to not offer a special word of thanks to all the professors and administrators who were readily available to participate in virtual sessions with our prospective student-athletes.
On the morning before football took the field at Southern Miss, Grace Forbes gave Rice its first Conference USA champion of 2020-21 by demolishing the field at the C-USA Cross Country Championship and qualifying for the NCAA Championship in March.
Men's basketball opened by winning its first four game, the best start for the program since 2011, while the women's team scheduled a game at Texas Tech just three days before game day, went into Lubbock and posted their first win over a Power 5 program since 2006.
Our final football game with UAB was our first opportunity to welcome our fans and supporters to Rice Stadium in person, an important step in creating additional opportunities for you to join us this year. Everyone in attendance showed a great willingness to follow the protocols, and that will certainly help our efforts to create similar opportunities for our outdoor sports in the second semester. Indoor sports, as we have seen, present much greater challenges. We will continue to present plans to the Rice Crisis Management team that adhere to protocols while allowing some level of attendance in order to create similar opportunities for our indoor sports.
Experiencing games virtually is counter to the way we all came to love them. While those of us in the department have made athletics our career pursuit, we also are all fans of sports and enjoy the in-person experience as much as you. I am proud of the efforts of our staff to create the best alternative experience during these times, while also knowing how much they look forward to welcoming all of you back in person as soon as we are able.
Speaking of our creative team, if you have not yet seen our new Rice branding video, please take a moment to do so and share it with your friends.
Another vibrant example of the dedication exhibited by our student-athletes is their academic success in the face of the spring shutdown and the disruption of their competitive seasons. Our female student-athletes led the nation in the latest release of Federal Graduation Rate statistics, while eight of our sports posted perfect scores in the latest NCAA Graduation Rate Statistics. You can read more here.
Just in time for the holiday season, Rice Athletics continues to serve our community and has partnered with the College Football Playoff Foundation to distribute $5,000 worth of gift cards from Michael's and Donors Choose to K-12 Teachers at a dozen area schools who were recognized as Teachers of the Year.
As we close this most challenging of years, I want to thank all of you who have made gifts to Rice and Rice Athletics during the 24-Hour Challenge, during which we received the most gifts of any department at Rice. There is still time before the end of the year to make a gift if you have not yet done so.
As we look towards the new year, I am excited to announce that we will be hosting our inaugural "Night of Flight" auction and virtual event on Thursday, April 22nd. I encourage everyone to save the date and be on the lookout for more information in January on what is sure to be a special evening.
Thank you for being part of our Rice Family, and Go Owls!
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