RICE: Where Are We Now? Where Can We Go?

Athletics

Revitalization of Rice athletics was another goal as we realized that we had substandard facilities for intercollegiate and intramural athletics. Moreover, much of the campus seemed resigned to mediocrity in athletic facilities as well as athletic competition. Rice had gone 27 years without any championship in any sport.

In the past 10 years, we have replaced or improved facilities in every single sport, added new women’s sports, and won 24 championships, including a national baseball championship with a pitching staff that the national press has called the strongest in the history of college baseball. All the while, we have consistently held athletics to a high level of accountability and raised standards and graduation rates for student–athletes.

On November 3, we were accepted into a new conference: Rice is to be one of six schools in the just-established Western Wing of Conference USA, consisting principally of five nearby private schools as well as the University of Houston. We will reap major savings not only in travel costs but also in time away from class for our students.

We also knew that our intramural and club sports needed upgrading both in facilities and variety. Today, more than ever, students are engaged in sports, and nearly half of Rice undergraduates now participate in approximately 30 intramural and club sports that range from flag football to fencing to rowing. Physical fitness, of course, is of obvious benefits to our students, but equally important are the leadership, teamwork, and organizational skills they learn and carry with them into their professional lives.

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