Rice Owls football
The Rice Owls football program represents Rice University in the sport of American football. The team competes at the NCAA Division I FBS level and have competed in Conference USA's Western Division since 2005. Rice Stadium, built in 1950, hosts the Owls' home football games.
Rice Owls football | |||
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| |||
First season | 1912 | ||
Athletic director | Joe Karlgaard | ||
Head coach | Mike Bloomgren 2nd season, 5–20 (.200) | ||
Stadium | Rice Stadium (Capacity: 47,000) | ||
Year built | 1950 | ||
Field surface | FieldTurf | ||
Location | Houston, Texas | ||
NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
Conference | Conference USA | ||
Division | West | ||
Past conferences | Southwest (1915–1996) WAC (1996–2004) | ||
All-time record | 466–589–32 (.443) | ||
Bowl record | 7–5 (.583) | ||
Conference titles | 8 (1934, 1937, 1946, 1949, 1953, 1957, 1994, 2013) | ||
Division titles | 2 (2008, 2013) | ||
Rivalries | SMU (rivalry) Houston (rivalry) Texas (rivalry) | ||
Consensus All-Americans | 6 | ||
Colors | Blue and Gray[1] | ||
Fight song | Rice Fight | ||
Mascot | Sammy the Owl | ||
Marching band | Marching Owl Band | ||
Website | RiceOwls.com |
History
1954 Cotton Bowl Classic
The Owls played in the eighteenth Cotton Bowl Classic against the Crimson Tide of Alabama. The game featured one of the most famous plays in college football history[2] when Rice's Dickey Moegle (later Maegle) burst free on a sweep play, and on his way down the sideline, was tackled by Tommy Lewis, who had come off the Alabama sideline without his helmet to tackle Moegle. Referee Cliff Shaw saw Lewis come off the bench and gave the Owls the 95 yard touchdown. Rice would win the game 28–6, with the only Crimson Tide score coming from Lewis. The yardage added to Moegle's 265 yards rushing, a Cotton Bowl Classic record that would stand until Tony Temple's effort in 2008. This would be the Owls' last bowl win until the 2008 Texas Bowl, a win which also secured the Owls their first 10-win season since 1949.[3]
Kennedy Speech
Rice Stadium also hosted a speech by John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1962. In it, he used the Rice football team to challenge America to send a man to the moon.
- But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.[4]
Conference affiliations
- Independent (1912–1914)
- Southwest Conference (1915–1996)
- Western Athletic Conference (1996–2004)
- Conference USA (2005–present)
Head coaches
Name | Seasons | Overall | Pct. | Bowls |
---|---|---|---|---|
Philip Arbuckle | 1912–1917,1919–1923 | 51–25–8 | .655 | |
John E. Anderson | 1918 | 1–5–1 | .214 | |
John Heisman | 1924–1927 | 14–18–3 | .443 | |
Claude Rothgeb | 1928 | 2–7 | .222 | |
Jack Meagher | 1929–1933 | 26–26 | .500 | |
Jimmy Kitts | 1934–1939 | 33–29–4 | .530 | 1–0 |
Jess Neely | 1940–1966 | 144–124–10 | .536 | 3–3 |
Bo Hagan | 1967–1970 | 12–27–1 | .313 | |
Bill Peterson | 1971 | 3–7–1 | .318 | |
Al Conover | 1972–1975 | 14–28–2† | .341 | |
Homer Rice | 1976–1977 | 4–18 | .182 | |
Ray Alborn | 1978–1983 | 13–53 | .197 | |
Watson Brown | 1984–1985 | 4–18 | .182 | |
Jerry Berndt | 1986–1988 | 6–27 | .182 | |
Fred Goldsmith | 1989–1993 | 23–31–1 | .427 | |
Ken Hatfield | 1994–2005 | 55–78–1 | .414 | |
Todd Graham | 2006 | 7–6 | .538 | 0–1 |
David Bailiff | 2007–2017 | 57–80 | .416 | 3–1 |
Mike Bloomgren | 2018–2019 | 5–20 | .200 |
† 15–27–2 overall per NCAA due to 1975 forfeit win over Mississippi State.[5]
Championships
Conference championships
Rice has won seven conference championships, four outright and three shared.
Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
---|---|---|---|---|
1934 | Southwest Conference | Jimmy Kitts | 9–1–1 | 5–1 |
1937 | Southwest Conference | Jimmy Kitts | 6–3–2 | 4–1–1 |
1946† | Southwest Conference | Jess Neely | 9–2 | 5–1 |
1949 | Southwest Conference | Jess Neely | 10–1 | 6–0 |
1953† | Southwest Conference | Jess Neely | 9–2 | 5–1 |
1957 | Southwest Conference | Jess Neely | 7–4 | 5–1 |
1994† | Southwest Conference | Ken Hatfield | 5–6 | 4–3 |
2013 | Conference USA | David Bailiff | 10–4 | 7–1 |
† Co-championship
Division championships
Rice has won two division championships.
Year | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008† | C-USA West | David Bailiff | N/A lost tiebreaker to Tulsa | |
2013 | C-USA West | David Bailiff | Marshall | W 41–24 |
† Co-championship
Bowl games
Rice has participated in 12 bowl games, garnering a record of 7–5.
Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1937 | Jimmy Kitts | Cotton Bowl Classic | Colorado | W 28–14 |
1946 | Jess Neely | Orange Bowl | Tennessee | W 8–0 |
1949 | Jess Neely | Cotton Bowl Classic | North Carolina | W 27–13 |
1953 | Jess Neely | Cotton Bowl Classic | Alabama | W 28–6 |
1957 | Jess Neely | Cotton Bowl Classic | Navy | L 7–20 |
1960 | Jess Neely | Sugar Bowl | Ole Miss | L 6–14 |
1961 | Jess Neely | Bluebonnet Bowl | Kansas | L 7–33 |
2006 | Todd Graham | New Orleans Bowl | Troy | L 17–41 |
2008 | David Bailiff | Texas Bowl | Western Michigan | W 38–14 |
2012 | David Bailiff | Armed Forces Bowl | Air Force | W 33–14 |
2013 | David Bailiff | Liberty Bowl | Mississippi State | L 7–44 |
2014 | David Bailiff | Hawaii Bowl | Fresno State | W 30–6 |
Stadium
Rice Stadium was built in 1950, and has been the home of Owls football ever since. It hosted the NFL Super Bowl in January 1974. It replaced the old Rice Field (now Rice Track/Soccer Stadium) to increase seating. Total seating capacity in the current stadium was reduced from 70,000 to 47,000 before the 2006 season. The endzone seating benches were removed and covered with tarps, and all of the wooden bleachers were replaced with new, metal seating benches in 2006, as well. The stadium is also currently undergoing further renovations.
Rivalries
SMU
Rice and SMU were members of the same conference from 1918 through 2012, and have played each other 90 times as of 2012 with SMU leading the series 48–41–1. The rivalry is because Rice and SMU were two of four private schools in the Southwest Conference (Baylor and TCU were the others). Rice and SMU were also the two smallest schools in the conference, were located in the two largest cities of any teams in the conference (Houston and Dallas, respectively), and have historically been considered the two best private universities in Texas.
SMU leads the series 48–41–1 as of 2017.[6]
Houston
Rice participates in a crosstown rivalry with Houston. UH and Rice play annually for the Bayou Bucket, a weathered bucket found by former Rice guard Fred Curry at an antique shop. Curry had it designed into a trophy for $310. The two universities are separated by five miles in Houston. The Cougars lead the series 32–11.The Cougars' 2013 move from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference has jeopardized the status of the series.
Houston leads the series 31–11 after a win in September 2018.[7]
Texas
Rice and Texas have maintained a largely one-sided rivalry beginning in the early days of the Southwest Conference. Texas' 28 consecutive victories from 1966–1993 represents the sixth longest single-opponent winning streak in college football history. In 1994, in a nationally televised ESPN game, Rice scored a major upset win over Texas, but since then Texas has resumed series dominance. Despite the dissolution of the Southwest Conference, Texas and Rice still play on a "near annual" basis, allowing the Longhorns to keep a high profile in the state's largest city and the fourth largest city in the United States.
Texas leads the series 72–21–1 as of the conclusion of the 2017 season.[8]
College Football Hall of Fame
Eight former Rice players and coaches have been inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame.[9]
Name | Position | Career | Induction | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
John Heisman | Coach | 1892–1927 | 1954 | Inducted for his career as a coach at Oberlin, Akron, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Pennsylvania, Washington & Jefferson, Rice |
Weldon Humble | G | 1941–1943, 1946 | 1961 | He was a consensus All- America choice. Like most athletes of his time, Weldon was required to suspend his career for military service during World War II. |
James "Froggy" Williams | End | 1946–1949 | 1965 | A consensus All-American and was also selected to the Cotton Bowl’s All-Decade team for the 1950s |
Jess Neely | Coach | 1924–1966 | 1971 | Inducted for his career as a coach at Rhodes, Clemson, Rice |
Bill Wallace | HB | 1932, 1934–1935 | 1978 | Wallace was Rice's initial first team All-America selection |
Dick Maegle | HB | 1952–1954 | 1979 | He was consensus All-America and academic All-America in 1954 |
Buddy Dial | End | 1956–1958 | 1993 | Team's co-captain, Most Valuable Player, and was consensus All-America |
Tommy Kramer | QB | 1972–1976 | 2012 | Senior Bowl MVP and 1976 George Martin Award winner |
All-Americans
As of 2017, the following 18 players have been named All-America[10] with 6 selection being consensus.[11]
Name | Position | Year |
---|---|---|
Bill Wallace | B | 1934 |
H.J. Nichols | G | 1944 |
Weldon Humble † | G | 1946 |
Froggy Williams † | E | 1949 |
Joe Watson | C | 1949 |
Bill Howton | E | 1951 |
John Hudson | T | 1953 |
Kosse Johnson | B | 1953 |
Dicky Maegle † | HB | 1954 |
King Hill | QB | 1957 |
Buddy Dial † | E | 1958 |
Malcolm Walker | C | 1964 |
Tommy Kramer † | QB | 1976 |
Steve Kidd | P | 1985 |
Trevor Cobb | HB | 1991,† 1992 |
Charles Torello | OG | 1997 |
Jarett Dillard | WR | 2006, 2008 |
Kyle Martens | P | 2010 |
† Consensus selection
Other notable players
- Tony Barker, LB Washington Redskins
- Chris Boswell, K Pittsburgh Steelers
- O.J. Brigance, LB multiple teams
- James Casey, TE/FB multiple teams
- Bryce Callahan, DB Chicago Bears
- Earl Cooper, RB San Francisco 49ers
- Vince Courville, WR multiple teams
- Christian Covington, DL Houston Texans
- Patrick Dendy, DB Green Bay Packers
- Buddy Dial, WR, multiple teams
- Jarett Dillard, WR Jacksonville Jaguars
- Michael Downs, S Dallas Cowboys
- Emmanuel Ellerbee, LB Seattle Seahawks
- Bert Emanuel, WR multiple teams
- Phillip Gaines, DB multiple teams
- Darryl Grant, OL Washington Redskins
- Courtney Hall, OL San Diego Chargers
- King Hill, QB, multiple teams
- Donald Hollas, QB Oakland Raiders
- Robert Hubble, TE San Francisco 49ers
- Larry Izzo, LB New England Patriots
- N.D. Kalu, DE multiple teams
- Tommy Kramer, QB Minnesota Vikings
- LaDouphyous McCalla, DB Saskatchewan Roughriders
- Vance McDonald, TE Pittsburgh Steelers
- Primo Miller, T Cleveland Rams
- Cheta Ozougwu, DE, multiple teams
- Ryan Pontbriand, DS Cleveland Browns
- Frank Ryan, QB Cleveland Browns
- Andrew Sendejo, DB Cleveland Browns
- Scott Solomon, DE multiple teams
- Seaman Squyres, HB Cincinnati Reds
- Jordan Taylor, WR Denver Broncos
- John Underwood, G Milwaukee Badgers
- Austin Walter, RB San Francisco 49ers
- Joe Watson, Detroit Lions
- Bones Weatherly, LB Chicago Bears
- Luke Willson, TE Seattle Seahawks
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of July 30, 2020.[12]
2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
at Arkansas | at USC | at Texas | Sam Houston State | at Louisiana | Army | Boise State | Northwestern | at Northwestern | ||
Houston | McNeese State | Houston | at LSU | BYU | Houston Baptist | at Boise State | ||||
at Texas | Louisiana | Texas Southern | Army | |||||||
Texas Southern | at Houston | at BYU |
References
- Rice Athletics Branding Guidelines, Rules, & Regulations (PDF). August 19, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- Dickey Moegle in the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic. Article. Retrieved on December 29, 2008.
- Associated Press (2008-12-30). "Rice rolls Western Michigan for first bowl win since '54". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- "John F. Kennedy Moon Speech - Rice Stadium". Er.jsc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- "Al Conover Coaching Record". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
- "Winsipedia - Rice Owls vs. SMU Mustangs football series history". Winsipedia.
- "Winsipedia - Houston Cougars vs. Rice Owls football series history". Winsipedia.
- "Winsipedia - Rice Owls vs. Texas Longhorns football series history". Winsipedia.
- "Inductees - Football Players & Coaches - College Football Hall of Fame". www.cfbhall.com.
- "2017 Media Guide" (PDF). riceowls.com. Rice Athletics. p. 177. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
- "2017 FOOTBALL AWARD WINNERS" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 25. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
- "Rice Owls Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.