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BREAKING: Rice Baseball to host 2023 Conference USA Tournament

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BREAKING: Rice baseball will host the 2023 Conference USA Baseball Tournament as the tournament shifts from Biloxi to member campuses starting in 2021.

Scheduling is going to look different across the landscape of college sports in the wake of the COVID-19 financial crunch. Conference USA will not be immune from those changes, some of which have already been put into action. Cutting down travel expenses wherever possible has been at the forefront of conversations.

One of the initial changes impacts the Conference USA Baseball tournament, which has been hosted at MGM Park in Biloxi, MS from 2017 to 2019. The tournament was scheduled to be played their again in 2020 before COVID-19 forced the cancelation of the season. Instead of the neutral site, the tournament is moving to member campuses.

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Rather than returning to Mississippi in 2021, the tournament will move to the newly renovated J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park. The home of the Louisiana State Bulldogs, Patterson Park was severely damaged in a tornado that passed through Ruston, LA in April of 2019. Southern Miss will host in 2022.

The Roost has confirmed Rice baseball will host in 2023. The Owls lasted hosted the conference tournament in 2013. Christian Stringer was named tournament MVP and the Owls punched their tickets to the postseason as tournament champions. Changing backdrops have been a good thing for Rice since then. Rice won the tournament when it shifted to Hattiesburg, MS in 2014 and again when it moved to Biloxi in 2017.

This is the first notable shift in scheduling that has come out in the wake of the pandemic. Further considerations including changes to Olympic sports and basketball scheduling could also be on the table. We will continue to provide updates on those as they come.

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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.”

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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.

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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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