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Conference USA: Scheduling changes coming soon

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Conference USA athletics scheduling changes are on their way with modifications to the upcoming fall sports calendar expected soon.

The extended offseason has been a busy one for Conference USA and its member institutions and conversations among league officials and athletic directors about the structure of future schedules have been at the forefront.

“I don’t think there’s any question that our geographic stretch is a challenge for us,” Rice Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard said. “Pre-pandemic it was something that we made work. I think post-pandemic it’s something that we are really looking closely at.”

Ideas have been tossed around from sources inside and outside of Conference USA. Basketball is expected to end bonus play and could consider moving to a divisional structure to reduce travel. Olympics sports, in particular, are taking a hard look at more regionalized scheduling.

Administrators are also keeping an eye on what’s happening across the nation. The MAC cut postseason tournaments in several sports. Those changes reflect the historical Ivy League model, which traditionally awarded regular-season champions with any relevant postseason bids.

What will those changes look like? Karlgaard said the scope was far-reaching. “All of that is on the table for us to evaluate going forward.”

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

This is not smoke and mirrors. Karlgaard has already been in discussion with Athletic Directors at schools in close geographic proximity. “They’re all interested [in regionalized scheduling],” he said. “What form and shape that takes, I think, is going to take longer for us to hash out.”

Long term scheduling adjustments will take time to play out, but changes to the upcoming seasons are imminent. Karlgaard indicated that he expects Conference USA to address fall scheduling as soon as this week, particularly with athletes now allowed to return to campus at several member schools. Rice had not yet set a timetable for the return of their own student-athletes.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 35 – James Casey on Rice Football and the NFL

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The Roost Podcast can’t go too long without returning to our Rice Football roots. James Casey stops by to reminisce and update us on his journey through the NFL.

After spending the last two shows on the NBA with former Rice Basketball guard Tamir Jackson and Star Wars with cross country runner Adolfo Carvalho, The Roost Podcast returns to Rice football talk this week with James Casey.

The former Rice standout has been busy since he last played ball at South Main. He gave us the rundown on his adventures since Rice and what life is like working in the NFL during a pandemic.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to our chat with James Casey on Episode 35.


Episode 35 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Thanks to all of you who have followed the show on Twitter and left a review on iTunes. It’s quick, but it makes a difference. Make sure you James Casey on Twitter and let him know if you enjoyed having him on the pod.
  • James Casey joins the show — The first active coach to join the podcast, Casey recounts his career up to this point and some of his favorite moments along the way including:
    • His Rice experience joining the football team after playing minor league baseball
    • His favorite non-athletic Rice memories and the squirrels on campus
    • The trajectory of Rice football now under coach Mike Bloomgren
    • The decision to become a coach and his path to the Cincinnati Bengals
    • Joe Burrow and the impact great quarterbacks can have on a team

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Basketball: 2021 Forward Damion McDowell commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Basketball recruiting class has its first commitment. Forward Damion McDowell has made his pledge to the Owls.

After a tumultuous spring, Rice basketball was in need of good news on the recruiting front. An offseason full of transfers, both to and from South Main, had left the Owls with a rebuilt roster. With the 2020 class signing and secured — Furman transfer Tre Clark was the most recent, and hopefully final addition —  the Owls were able to turn their focus toward 2021.

Rice basketball now has its first commitment from that next wave. 6-foot-6 forward Damion McDowell from St. Bernard Catholic School in Los Angeles, CA. McDowell chose Rice over offers from UC San Diego and Montana State.

McDowell called the decision two-pronged, “Rice is a win-win as it has a competitive academic and basketball program,” he said. Going out of state was a big step for him, but staying within a relatively short flight from southern California provided some relief. He says he feels like he fits well with the Owls’ style of play and felt valued.

More: 2020 Rice Basketball Transfer Tracker

The addition of McDowell secures one of a limited number of spots in the 2021 Rice Basketball recruiting class. Before any potential transfers are accounted for, the Owls will probably be limited to two more slots. The staff has handed out a few offers over the past few weeks, but McDowell was the first to act. The virtual nature of recruiting during the COVID-19 restrictions doesn’t seem to have slowed things down much at all.

McDowell tips the scales somewhere around 200 pounds. His strong frame will be an asset to the Owls. Check out this highlight video below to see more of what McDowell will bring to the table when he gets to South Main.

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Rice Tennis: Trial by fire sets stage for Owls in 2020

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The trial-by-fire approach was painful for two Rice tennis sophomores, but the light at the end of the tunnel paints a reason to retain optimism.

Rice tennis found themselves in uncharted water when they trotted out Campbell Salmon and Karol Paluch as their top two players last fall. Head coach Efe Ustendag was excited about the potential each of those sophomores possessed, but seeing it tested so early as the frontrunners of an injury-plagued roster was decidedly not according to plan.

“We were out of bodies,” Ustendag admitted when asked about his decision to turn to the emerging duo. Reigning C-USA Player of the Year Sumit Sarkar was far from being 100 percent. Several other players were knocked up here and there. The sum total of the various injuries was a roster stretch thin early in the year.

Salmon and Paluch were asked to lead the way. They struggled early. They were noticeably affected by the jump in the level of competition they faced on a weekly basis. The Owls had planned to hit the duo sixth and seventh in the order, not first and second. Bruised but not beaten, the sophomores learned from the experience.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

Ustendag knew he was playing the long game. “I think this is really going to set them up well for the rest of their careers,” he said, seeing the good in a challenging situation.

Those two won’t be left alone to lead the way. Rice loses just one player, senior Eric Rutledge, from their starting rotation next season. They also add incoming freshman Trinity Grear and should have a more experienced version of returning sophomore Wes Barnett.

Next year’s upperclassmen-laden roster will have seen a thing or two in their college playing days. The adversity wasn’t comfortable in the moment, but the far-reaching impact could be very positive.

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Rice Tennis: Tough injury luck leaves Owls wishing for 2019 mulligan

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Injuries derailed the 2019-2020 Rice tennis season before it ever picked up much momentum. The Owls must pick up the pieces and look toward the future.

The 2019-2020 Rice tennis season needed a reboot by the time mid-March arrived. That reset that hit the Owls’ tennis program left no room for course corrections, instead causing the premature end of what had been a frustrating campaign

Reigning C-USA Men’s Player of the Year Sumit Sarkar had battled injuries throughout the fall. So too had fellow junior Jacob Eskeland. Outmanned, Rice battled against an unforgiving schedule that included a spring stretch with three Top 15 teams in the span of a month.

“I felt it would actually be a pretty good year for us,” recalled head coach Efe Ustundag. “We graduated nobody from the starting lineup, especially in singles, so everybody was coming back. We added a stellar freshman we thought was just going to make our entire unit stronger and Conference USA player of the year from the year before Sumit Sarkar [was] returning as a Top 25 collegiate player.”

It’s impossible to boil things down to a single “why” but the injury-riddled fall certainly played a significant role in what had become one of the worst starts of Ustendag’s tenure. Which is what made the March halt all the more disappointing.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

Rice had turned the corner on the injury front. For the first time in months, the team was able to match its opponents’ top players against its own.

“The record wasn’t stellar,” said Ustendag. “However, the quality of play was getting there and more importantly, we were getting healthy.”

Rice would never get that chance. There was no conference tournament this year and no NCAA Tournament either. The record books have been inked for this 4-8 season, one which was one win away from flipping the script. Sometimes you just have to chalk it up to a bad year and move on.

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