With one last Bayou Bucket
Representatives from seven schools meet to form the new Southwest Conference. Rice plays in the first year, 1915, then takes a two-year hiatus.
1916:
Rice beats SMU 146-3 in the Owl's most lopsided game ever.
1924:
John Heisman takes over as coach, a position he would hold for four seasons, never finishing better than 0.500. He later goes on to have the Heisman Trophy named after him.
1937:
Rice goes scoreless over its first three games, then wins six of eight to win its second SWC championship and its first Cotton Bowl.
1940:
In Jess Neely's first season as coach, the team improves to 7-2 (from 1-9-1 the previous season.) In his 27 seasons as coach, Neely won four SWC championships and three bowls.
1949:
In Rice's best season ever, the Owls beat not only Texas but every other SWC team as well. They finish 10-1, ranked fifth nationally by the Associated Press.
Rice goes on to beat North Carolina in the Cotton Bowl, 27-13.
1950:
Rice Stadium, started in February, opens in time for the season's first game in September. Rice beats University of Santa Clara 27-7 but goes on to finish the season 6-4, fifth in the conference.
1954:
Rice's 28-6 win in the Cotton Bowl is made memorable when Alabama player Tommy Lewis leaps off the bench to tackle Rice's Dicky Maegle. The referees give Maegle the remaining 40 yards for a 95-yard touchdown, the longest in Rice history.
1976:
The offense passes for 3,337 yards (a Rice record), making it one of the best in the country. Rice finishes 3-8-0, seventh in the SWC.
This item appeared in the Features section of the December 1, 1995 issue.
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