The
Rice Owls football team represents
Rice UniversityWilliam Marsh Rice University is a private coeducational research university located in Houston, Texas, United States...
in NCAA
Division IDivision I is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States....
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
. The Owls 2 step have competed in Conference USA's Western Division since 2005.
Rice StadiumRice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950....
, built in 1950, hosts the Owls' home football games. The program has been historically mediocre.
Rice StadiumRice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950....
was built in 1950, and has been the home of Owls football ever since. It replaced the old Rice Stadium (now
Rice Track/Soccer StadiumRice Track/Soccer Stadium is a stadium in Houston, Texas. It is primarily used for track and field and soccer for the Rice University Owls. It sits on the location of Rice Field, Rice's old football stadium that was used prior to the opening of Rice Stadium in 1950. The venue held less than 37,000...
) to increase seating.
The
Rice Owls football team represents
Rice UniversityWilliam Marsh Rice University is a private coeducational research university located in Houston, Texas, United States...
in NCAA
Division IDivision I is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States....
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
. The Owls 2 step have competed in Conference USA's Western Division since 2005.
Rice StadiumRice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950....
, built in 1950, hosts the Owls' home football games. The program has been historically mediocre.
Venue
Rice StadiumRice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950....
was built in 1950, and has been the home of Owls football ever since. It replaced the old Rice Stadium (now
Rice Track/Soccer StadiumRice Track/Soccer Stadium is a stadium in Houston, Texas. It is primarily used for track and field and soccer for the Rice University Owls. It sits on the location of Rice Field, Rice's old football stadium that was used prior to the opening of Rice Stadium in 1950. The venue held less than 37,000...
) to increase seating. Total
seating capacitySeating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, either in terms of the physical space available, or in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that...
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.
1954 Cotton Bowl
The Owls played in the eighteenth
Cotton BowlThe Cotton Bowl Classic, commonly known as the Cotton Bowl, is a United States college football bowl game that was played annually since 1937 at its namesake stadium in Dallas, Texas. On February 27, 2007, it was announced that the game will move to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, beginning...
against
the Crimson Tide of AlabamaThe Alabama Crimson Tide football program is a college football team that represents the University of Alabama . The team currently competes in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Crimson Tide is one of the most storied and decorated programs in NCAA history...
. The game featured one of the most famous plays in college football history when Rice's
Dickey MoegleRichard Lee "Dickey" Maegle is a former professional American football running back and defensive back in the National Football League for seven seasons for the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Dallas Cowboys.Maegle played college football at Rice University, where he was an...
(later Maegle) burst free on a sweep play, and on his way down the sideline, was tackled by
Tommy LewisTommy Lewis of Greenville, Alabama played fullback for the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 1951, 1952 and 1953 seasons. He wore number 34...
, 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 record that would stand until
Tony TempleTony Temple is the former starting running back for the Missouri Tigers football team representing the University of Missouri. Temple played for the Tigers from 2004 to 2007...
's effort in
2008The 2008 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2008, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, USA. The Cotton Bowl was part of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and one of 32 games in the 2007-2008 bowl season...
. This would be the Owls' last bowl win until the
2008 Texas BowlThe 2008 Texas Bowl was the third edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The game was played at 7:00 PM US CST on Tuesday, December 30, 2008. The game, telecast on NFL Network, featured the hometown Rice Owls against the Western Michigan...
, a win which also secured the Owls their first 10-win season since 1949.
Chillie Stadium also hosted a speech by
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
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 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.
Coaching history
| Name |
Seasons |
Overall |
Overall % |
Bowls |
Bowls % |
| David Bailiff David Bailiff is a college football coach, who is currently the head coach at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Bailiff played for three years as an offensive lineman and tight end for coach Jim Wacker at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas...
|
2007-present |
13–12–0 |
52.0% |
1–0 |
100% |
| Todd Graham Todd Graham is the head football coach at the University of Tulsa. He was previously the head coach at Rice University in Houston, Texas.-Playing career:...
|
2006 |
7–6 |
53.8% |
0–1 |
0.0% |
| Ken Hatfield Ken Hatfield is a former American football head coach. His last position was at Rice University, where he compiled a 55-78-1 record before resigning on , following a 1-10 season....
|
1994-2005 |
55–78–1 |
41.0% |
-- |
-- |
| Fred Goldsmith Fred Goldsmith is the 18th and current head football coach for Lenoir-Rhyne University, an NCAA division II school in Hickory, N.C. Hired on November 28, 2006, Goldsmith arrives at Lenoir-Rhyne fresh off a successful four-year run at Franklin High School in Franklin, N.C., where he compiled a...
|
1989-93 |
23–31–1 |
42.7% |
-- |
-- |
| Jerry Berndt Jerry Berndt was a college football coach at Penn, Rice, and Temple. From 1981 to 1985, he coached at Penn, and compiled a 29-18-2 record. In 1984, he posted a 15 game winning streak, giving him Ivy League Coach of the Year honors. From 1986 to 1988, he coached at Rice, and compiled a 6-27 record....
|
1986-88 |
6–27–0 |
18.2% |
-- |
-- |
| Watson Brown Lester Watson Brown is currently the head coach of the Tennessee Tech University college football team. Formerly, he also served as the head coach at UAB from 1995–2006 and as athletic director between 2002–2005. He has also been the head coach for Austin Peay, Cincinnati, Rice, and...
|
1984-85 |
4–18–0 |
18.2% |
-- |
-- |
| Ray Alborn Ray Alborn is a former American football coach. He served as head coach at Rice University and Lamar University.While coaching at his alma mater Rice, Alborn compiled a 13–53 record overall. He was fired after the 1983 season and soon later became defensive line coach for the USFL's Houston...
|
1978-83 |
13–53–0 |
19.7% |
-- |
-- |
| Homer Rice Homer Rice was a college athletic director and football coach. From 1967 to 1968, he served as the head football coach at Cincinnati, where he compiled an 8-10-1 record. From 1976 to 1977, he coached at Rice, where he compiled a 4-18 record...
|
1976-77 |
4–18–0 |
18.2% |
-- |
-- |
| Al Conover Al Conover is a former American football coach. Remembered as a flamboyant character, Conover coached at Rice University from 1972-75, before resigning to enter private business. Conover was 15–27–2 overall in four seasons at Rice. Prior to Rice, Conover had served six seasons as an assistant at...
|
1972-75 |
14–28–2 |
34.1% |
-- |
-- |
| Bill Peterson William E. "Bill" Peterson was an American football coach. His career included head coaching stops at Florida State, Rice University and with the Houston Oilers. Considered one of the unique characters in college sports, Peterson is credited with bringing the pro passing game to college football...
|
1971 |
3–7–1 |
31.8% |
-- |
-- |
| Bo Hagan Harold “Bo” Hagan is a former American football coach. He served as head coach at Rice University from 1967-70. He compiled a 12–27–1 record in those four seasons. Before serving as head coach, Hagan had been the backfield coach at Rice for 11 seasons....
|
1967-70 |
12–27–1 |
31.3% |
-- |
-- |
| Jess Neely Jess C. Neely was a Hall of Fame college football coach at Clemson and Rice University.He played college football at Vanderbilt 1920-22...
|
1940-66 |
144–124–10 |
53.6% |
3–3–0 |
50.0% |
| Jimmy Kitts James R. Kitts was a head football coach at Rice, and Virginia Tech. From 1934 to 1939, he coached at Rice, and compiled a 33-29-4 record. His 1934 team went 9-1-1, however his 1939 team went 1-9-1. From 1941 to 1947, he coached at Virginia Tech, and compiled a 13-9-3 record...
|
1934-39 |
33–29–4 |
53.0% |
1–0–0 |
100.0% |
| Jack Meagher John F. "Jack" Meagher was a American football coach. From 1929 to 1933, he served as the head coach at Rice, where he compiled a 26-26 record. From 1934 to 1942, he coached at Auburn, where he compiled a 48-37-10 record. His overall record as a coach was 74-63-10.Meagher also coached the Iowa...
|
1929-33 |
26–26–0 |
50.0% |
-- |
-- |
Claude RothgebClaude J. Rothgeb is a former head coach of the Colorado State and Rice college football program.-Head Coaching Record:-External links:...
|
1928 |
2–7–0 |
22.2% |
-- |
-- |
John HeismanJohn William Heisman was a prominent American football player and college football coach in the early era of the sport and is the namesake of the Heisman Trophy awarded annually to the season's best college football player.-Early life:He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but grew up in Titusville,...
|
1924-27 |
14–18–3 |
44.3% |
-- |
-- |
| John Anderson |
1918 |
1–5–1 |
21.4% |
-- |
-- |
| Phillip Arbuckle Phillip Arbuckle was a college football coach at Louisiana Tech, and Rice. From 1912 to 1923, he coached at Rice, where he compiled a 51-25-8 record. His only losing season at Rice came in 1923, which makes him the most prolific football coach in school history. His 1919 team went 8-1, to mark his...
|
1912-17,'19-23 |
51–25–8 |
65.5% |
-- |
-- |
Houston
Rice participates in a
crosstown rivalryIn sports, a crosstown rivalry is a rivalry between two teams in the same metropolitan area. It is a term primarily used in the United States and Canada, and it is analogous to the local derby in other parts of the world...
with
HoustonThe Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...
. UH and Rice play annually for the
Bayou BucketThe Bayou Bucket is an award given to the winner of an annual college football game between Conference USA rivals the Houston Cougars and the Rice Owls as a part of the Houston–Rice rivalry. The name of the award is a reference to one of Houston's popular nicknames as the Bayou City...
, 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
CougarsThe Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...
lead the series 24-10, with Rice snapping a 3 game losing streak in 2008.
Houston-Rice: All-Time Records
| Games played |
First meeting |
Last meeting |
RICE win |
RICE loss |
Ties |
Win % |
| 33 |
September 11, 1971 (lost 21–23) |
November 29, 2008 (win 56–42) |
10 |
24 |
0 |
29.4% |
Texas
Rice and
TexasThe University of Texas at Austin is a public research university located in Austin, Texas, United States, and is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol...
have maintained a 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 streakThe following is a list of the all-time leading NCAA Division I FBS college football single-opponent winning streaks. Teams are ranked by the number of consecutive wins they've posted against a specific opponent. All streaks of at least 20 games are in the list.† Active Streak...
in college football history. Texas is a public university that enrolls 50,201 total students (5th largest in the US as of 2007) and over 37,000 undergraduates. Rice is a private university and enrolls 3,051 undergraduates.
Texas-Rice: All-Time Records
| Games played |
First meeting |
Last meeting |
Rice win |
Rice loss |
Ties |
Win % |
| 103 |
October 17, 1914 (lost 0–41) |
September 20, 2008 (lost 52–10) |
21 |
91 |
1 |
18.8% |