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Rice Athletics: Top 10 Moments from 2021

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2021 was filled with highs and lows for Rice Athletics. The Roost picked out 10 moments that stood out the most along the way.

10. Rice Basketball goes on C-USA Tournament run

For the first time since 2007, Rice basketball won multiple games in the Conference USA Tournament. The Owls beat Southern Miss and knocked off Marshall before falling to UAB. After sneaking into the tournament as the sixth seed in the West, Rice put their best foot forward when it counted the most, building momentum as the team heads into the 2021-2022 season.

9. Owls shine at Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics

The realm of collegiate athletics wasn’t the only area where Rice impressed. The Owls also faired well on one of the world’s greatest stages: the Olympics. Ariana Ince competed in the Tokyo Olympics in the javelin throw. Soon after, Ahalya Lettenberger took home a silver medal in the Paralympic Games.

8. Rice Women’s basketball wins WNIT

It feels like forever ago at this point, but Rice Women’s Basketball marched through the WNIT in March, thumping Ole Miss to win the program’s first-ever WNIT Championship. The roster has changed dramatically since then, but the accomplishments of Tina Langley, Nancy Mulkey and Co. will not be forgotten.

7. Rice Football signs another Top 5 recruiting class

Recruiting has been one of the brightest spots for Rice football under head coach Mike Bloomgren and the most recent 2022 recruiting class appears to be no exception. The Owls took home a Top 5 class in Conference USA and the No. 2 rated class in program history. Each of the last three classes currently ranks in the Top 5 highest-rated classes in school history. More recruiting notes here.

6. Grace Forbes wins C-USA Female Track, XC Athlete of the Year

While track and field might not draw the same spotlight as other collegiate sports, it’s hard not to be transfixed by the level of dominance Grace Forbes has displayed in her young Rice career. Forbes was named C-USA Female Track Athlete of the Year and C-USA Cross Country Athlete of the Year. From start to end, she was the best of the best.

5. Rice baseball hires Jose Cruz Jr. as next head coach

Rice elected to make a change at the top of the baseball program following the 2021 season and athletic director Joe Karlgaard made a splash with the hiring of former Rice great Jose Cruz Jr. Cruz has already made notable additions on the transfer front and increased the visibility of the program within the city and on social media. The 2022 season can’t come soon enough.

4. Rice Soccer upsets WVU in NCAA Tournament

Making the NCAA Tournament is an accomplishment. Winning a game is another. Rice soccer went beyond both bars in their spring season, knocking off 5-seed West Virginia in route to the first Sweet 16 appearance by a Conference USA school since 2011 and tying the program record for wins a season with 14.

3. Rice Volleyball makes NCAA Tournament, twice!

Rice arrived in Omaha in mid-April but had their first NCAA Tournament appearance of the year ended by COVID-19 cases within the program. Undeterred, they bounced back and earned another NCAA bid in their traditional fall season. Finally given the opportunity to compete, Rice beat San Diego in the first round before falling to Texas in the second round.

2. Rice football beats UAB

For the second consecutive season, Rice football won a game as a three-touchdown underdog on the road. In 2020, Marshall was the victim a dominant defensive performance by the Owls. This time around, UAB was caught in the crosshairs of what was indisputably the most complete performance by all phases in the 2021 season with team-favorite Wiley Green at the helm.

1. Rice Athletics accepts AAC invite

The giant of conference realignment awoke during the summer when Texas and Oklahoma announced moves to the SEC. That decision sent ripple effects across college athletics all the way to Houston, Tx where Rice Athletics was invited to join the American Athletic Conference. The Owls don’t have a date when the move becomes official yet, but the announcement itself is a massive moment in Rice Athletics history.

Honorable Mentions…

How about you? Which of these moments from Rice Athletics did you enjoy the most? Cutting this down to 10 was challenging. Which Rice Athletics events should be added to the list?

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NIL and Rice Athletics: Owls embrace new opportunities

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Name, Imagine and Likeness, or NIL as it’s referenced often in short, has swept across the country. What is it? And how does it impact Rice Athletics?

Effective July 1, NIL legislation in states across the country went into effect with additional guidance from the NCAA serving as a backdrop. As soon as the clock strike midnight, student athletes began to announce new ventures aimed at making a profit using their Name, Imagine and Likeness.

In a nutshell, new NIL policy allows athletes to make money off their own likeness. Much in the same way a Chemistry student could use knowledge from his or her studies to run a tutoring business on the side, now college athletes can monetize themselves in similar ways. Some have launched new businesses. Others have posted branded content on their social media pages. We touched on it briefly in this week’s episode of The Roost Podcast.

How does this impact Rice Athletics?

According to Texas State law, Rice athletes are now free to enter into these types of agreements insofar as they do not overlap with official team activities (practices, class, games, etc.), involve Rice branding or property, or serve as endorsements for drugs, alcohol, gambling or other elicit businesses. And most importantly, no athlete can receive compensation for their performance on the field.

Student athletes must disclose potential agreements to the compliance staff, with opportunities exceeding $5,000 requiring approval from the Athletic Director. So far, we’ve seen several take advantage of their newfound rights.

NIL and Rice Athletes

A whole host of Owls have signed up to offer personalized coaching on Vevole which describes itself as “a video coaching platform that powers personal achievement through accessible coaching.” Individual coaches can select their own rates. Current and former Rice affiliated coaches include:

  • Michael Whitehead, Golf
  • Kel Bordwine, Baseball
  • Justin Collins, Baseball
  • Benjamin Content, Baseball
  • Alex DeLeon, Baseball
  • Carly Graham, Volleyball
  • Anthonio Cruz, Baseball
  • Jimmy Comerota, Baseball
  • Connor Teykl, Baseball
  • Tamir Jackson, Basketball
  • Blair Lewis, Baseball
  • Noah Hutchins, Basketball

Others have announced partnerships with Yoke Gaming, a service that allows fans to “compete face-to-face” with their favorite athletes in online video games. Current Rice football players Khalan Griffin and Plae Wyatt have both posted announcements regarding their involvement on Instagram.

Current Rice basketball guard Quincy Olivari announced a partnership with Go Puff, a delivery service for food and drinks.

The most creative use of the new rules belongs to Rice offensive lineman Nick Wagman.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 76 – Top Rice Athletics Moments in recent history

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This week we take a moment to reflect on the last 10 or so years of Rice Athletics, sifting through some of the biggest moments and storylines.

It’s hard to boil down a program into singular moments, but some events and seasons do stand out more than others. On this week’s show we recalled some of the most impactful ones from recent Rice Athletics history. From football to volleyball, to everywhere in between we discussed and remembered some of the high points along the way. Did we miss anything? Follow us on Twitter or send us leave us a comment on Facebook to let us know.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 76.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes our debriefing series on spring football, recruiting news and more.
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  • Moments 
    • 2013 – Football Conference Championship (def. Marshall)
    • 2014 – Football Hawaii Bowl win
    • 2019 – Women’s basketball Undefeated in C-USA, Make NCAA Tournament
    • 2019 – Volleyball upsets No. 3 Texas at home
    • 2020 – Football shuts out Marshall
    • 2021 – Women’s Basketball win WNIT
    • 2021 – Volleyball upsets No. 2 Texas in Austin
    • 2021 – Soccer Sweet 16 (Upset WVU)

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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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Which Rice Athletics team had the best 2020-201 season? All-American Q&A

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All-American Level subscribers on Patreon get access to a monthly Q&A with me. This update focuses on the best from Rice Athletics this season.

Q. With baseball missing the tournament and the Rice Athletics seasons more or less over, which team do you think had the best year?

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A. First off, stay tuned for the upcoming edition of The Roost Podcast where Carter and I talk through the most impressive moments and seasons from Rice Athletics in recent memory. We mentioned multiple teams from the 2020-2021 academic calendar that earned a nod of appreciation. But, best? Here’s how I’d parse out those accolades.

In all honesty, I might have to cheat just a little bit and break these up into categories.

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Rice Volleyball: COVID-19 ends Owls’ NCAA Tournament early

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Rice volleyball will not participate in the NCAA Tournament. The Owls’ opening-round game has been canceled because of COVID-19 protocols.

When the brackets were announced, Rice volleyball erupted with elation. Despite falling in the Conference USA Tournament Championship Game, the Owls’ body of work had earned them an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Months of hard work had paid off with the chance to compete for a national title.

And then late Wednesday night, that chance was unceremoniously ripped away.

A positive COVID-19 test within the Rice program forced the cancelation of the Owls’ opening-round game against N.C. A&T.  The Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee released a brief statement shortly after the scheduled start time of the match.

“The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee has declared the Rice-N.C. A&T match for Wednesday night at the CHI Health Center Omaha convention center a no-contest because of COVID-19 protocols. As a result, N.C. A&T will advance to the next round of the tournament. The NCAA and the committee regret that Rice student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to play in a tournament in which they earned the right to participate. Because of privacy issues we cannot provide further details.”

Rice arrived on Sunday for pre-match practices. Given a favorable draw and a head-to-head win over Texas already under their belt, the Owls had high expectations entering the week. Unfortunately, those hopes will not be realized this season.

Rice has since released a pair of statements:

“I’m heartbroken for our players, coaches, and support staff,” Rice Director of Athletics Joe Karlgaard said. “They’ve worked so hard this spring playing through difficult circumstances. Even with this terrible news, I want them to remember they’ve had a really terrific season. Rice is proud of who they are and what they’ve accomplished this year.”

“We are devastated that we won’t be able to compete in the NCAA Tournament this year,” AVCA South Region Coach of the Year Genny Volpe said. “This team deserved it, earning an at-large bid in a 48-team field and has so much to be proud of. It certainly is painful to see how much the team wanted to compete and to have to break the news to them that they couldn’t play. To compete in this tournament meant so much to all of us. Although this is a very sad moment, we know safety is the number one priority. We will be back stronger than ever. Rice Fight Never Dies.”

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