The source for Rice sports news

Report: Rice Athletics targeting Tommy McClelland to be new AD

By

Not long after the announced departure of Joe Karlgaard, Rice Athletics has reportedly focused its search on Tommy McClelland to be its new AD.

First reported by Pete Thamel, Rice Athletics is targeting current Vanderbilt deputy athletic director Tommy McClelland. According to Thamel, the deal is “expected to be finalized in the upcoming days.”

McClelland cut his teeth as an athletic director at McNeese State before moving to Louisiana Tech, where he served as the Bulldogs’ athletic director from 2013 to 2020 before departing for Vanderbilt. His particular penchant for fundraising, noted by Thamel and separately confirmed to The Roost, is one of his most distinctive traits.

The addition would be another step in a season of change for the entire Rice Athletics department and the university as a whole. Rice has recently installed a new president, Reginald DesRoches, moved to a new conference, the American Athletic, and now will be finalizing the addition of a new athletic director.

The hire would presumably enable Rice to have their card in order for the upcoming fall athletic season, which is quickly approaching. Rice football just completed media days last week and is set to open fall camp in the coming days. A new athletic year is poised to begin and it looks now as if the Owls have their man to lead them into an exciting new future.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Athletics Director Joe Karlgaard to Leave Owls this Summer

By

Rice Athletics Director Joe Karlgaard is moving on to private business, ending a decade-long tenure at the helm of the Owls’ athletic department.

In a statement from president Reginald DesRoches, Rice Athletics announced that athletic director Joe Karlgaard will conclude his time at Rice at the end of July. Effective August 1, Karlgaard will become the CEO of GSV Summit LLC, leaving the world of collegiate athletics for the time being.

Rice will “soon be launching a national search for our new athletics director” and an updated is expected on that front “in the next month.”

From Karlgaard:

“I’m very fortunate to have worked with so many wonderful student-athletes, coaches, staff, faculty, and supporters over these past ten years. Rice is a special place, and I’m grateful for all those who pour their hearts and souls into making this university great.”

Read the full statement here.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Soccer Recruiting Updates: May 2023 Patreon Q&A

By

The recruiting cycle never stops in college sports, and that includes Rice soccer, too. The Owls are on track to add some impact players for next season.

Even though Rice soccer finished with an undefeated conference record last season, head coach Brian Lee wasn’t about to sit around on his hands and wait for the 2023 season to arrive. He and the Owls have been busy on the transfer front, the focus of this month’s Patreon Q&A.

Want to get your questions answered? Subscribe on Patreon for our monthly mailbag.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.
Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball: 2023 Post-Season State of the Program

By

The 2022-2023 Rice women’s basketball season was filled with highs and lows. Where does the program stand as it enters the offseason?

A fast start followed by a rough beginning to conference play set the stage for an eventful 2022-2023 Rice Women’s Basketball season. Head coach Lindsay Edmonds worked through roster limitations and injuries to take her team to the WNIT and delivered her first postseason conference tournament win of her coaching career.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.

The Owls finished 23-9 (13-7) this season, a sizable step up from a 14-13 (8-9) campaign the season prior. Now that the dust has settled, where does the program stand as it moves forward?

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball’s WNIT run blocked by stingy Oregon defense

By

Rice women’s basketball fought hard, but couldn’t overcome the size and physicality of Oregon, falling to the Ducks in the second round of the WNIT.

Oregon landed the first blow in their second round WNIT matchup with Rice women’s basketball, knocking down a trio of three-pointers in the first three minutes of action to take an 11-3 home lead. Trailing in a hostile road environment, Rice remained poised and battled back, chipping away at the deficit to take their first lead of the night on their first shot of the second quarter.

From that point on, the back-and-forth commenced. The lead changed six times in the second quarter as the stingy Rice defense forced several turnovers, balancing out an uneven shooting performance that produced just a 33 percent clip from the field in the first half.

Oregon’s length and physicality continued to pose problems for Rice as the game progressed. The Ducks took advantage of a lightly-whistled game and worked the Owls from the inside out. As the Rice shots kept missing, Oregon exploded on a 23-9 run in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was all Oregon, too, overwhelming Rice with smothering defense until the Owls ran out of gas.

Rice shot 27.4 percent from the field, by far their worst shooting performance of the season. The previous low came on Jan. 11 against Middle Tennessee, 32.7 percent. Oregon picked up nine blocks and altered many more shots. They kept the Owls out of sync and eventually wore them down, securing the win with breathing room down the stretch.

Final Box | Oregon 78 – Rice 53

Key takeaway | Close

Rice women’s basketball played four Power 5 opponents this season: Texas A&M, TCU, BYU and Oregon. Three of those games were played away from home. Rice went 3-1 in those contests.

Four games do not a season make, but that sample paints a compelling picture of the type of team Rice has become, largely because the two pairs of games took place almost three months apart. Destiny Jackson, Malia Fisher and Trinity Gooden started the games against Texas A&M and TCU. None of those three started against BYU or Oregon.

Injuries have forced head coach Lindsay Edmonds to adjust, that’s true, but she’s also proven herself brave enough to tinker with a good thing in search of something better. Rice has continued to evolve from the team that struggled through a 1-4 start in conference play to the current iteration that’s won six of its last eight in the most important month of the season.

The first three weeks of conference play represented arguably the only subpar stretch of basketball this team played all season. Rice women’s basketball finished 23-9, which is a hair behind the clip of prior teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament or won the NIT. Rice isn’t back to that level yet, but the progression toward that end is clear. So long postseason, Rice women’s basketball will be back.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts