The source for Rice sports news

Official: Rice Athletics accepted into American Athletic Conference

By

Rice Athletics has been officially accepted into the American Athletic Conference, marking the end of their time in Conference USA.

Word broke on Monday afternoon that Rice Athletics might have a new home. Roughly 72 hours later, it’s official. Rice has been accepted as a new member by the American Athletic Conference.

Six schools (Rice, UAB, UTSA, North Texas, FAU, and Charlotte) submitted their applications to the AAC on Tuesday evening, paperwork was exchanged on Wednesday. Then AAC Board of Directors met and formally extended the invitations on Thursday. Upon the official sign off this morning, Rice Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard released this statement:

“We have been working diligently to position Rice as an attractive candidate when the next round of conference realignment began. Today’s invitation to join the American Athletic Conference confirms our approach and aligns with our aspirations to offer an unparalleled experience for our students. The commitment to athletics by our university administration has been crucial for our efforts to move forward, and we’re grateful for their close partnership. We have strong alignment as we embark on the next chapter in the history of Rice Athletics.”

Ultimately, the timing of the move will at least partially be dependent on the dominoes that came before. Texas and Oklahoma will have to reach some sort of agreement with the Big 12 to move to the SEC sooner than 2025. Then the four new additions to the Big 12 would “free up” space in the AAC allowing these new six schools to slot in. The 2023 season has been thrown around as a possibility. It’s a bit messy, but the important part for the Owls is this: they’re in.

As previously reported, the Owls’ newfound conference will include these 14 teams, with two divisions most likely position as follows:

West: Rice, SMU, Tulsa, Tulane, Navy, North Texas, UTSA
East: USF, FAU, Temple, Memphis, UAB, Charlotte, ECU

Other than Navy, currently part of the AAC West because of a longstanding desire to have connections to Texas, the Owls’ furthest road trip would be to Tulsa, an eight-hour drive or an hour and a half flight. For reference, it’s an 11-hour drive from Houston to El Paso and a three-hour flight from Houston to Norfolk, Virginia, sites of current Conference USA opponents.

Podcast: Rice Athletics to the AAC, instant reaction

Regionally, this move is a no-brainer. Financially, Rice stands to more than double its television revenues, with the potential to drastically outpace its current numbers pending further renegotiations down the line. Altogether, this is a banner day for Rice Athletics.

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

Recent Posts

Olympian Ariana Ince, a fitting ambassador of Rice Athletics, on and off the field

By

Ariana Ince will represent Rice Athletics and the State of Texas in the Tokyo Olympic Games, the culmination of many years of preparation.

A decade removed from her time as an undergraduate student at Rice University, the former Rice Athletics star Ariana Ince hasn’t forgotten her roots. Even though she’s since moved out west to California and works full time in the Golden State, she’s still very much connected to her time in Houston and her journey that began there so many years ago.

Now 32, Ince spends her days in the ergonomics industry. But that’s where the similarities between her and many of her classmates stop. Ince isn’t like every other young business professional. While others juggle commutes and deadlines, Ince has added another, much more expeditious projectile: the javelin. And she’s taken that passion as far as it can go, earning a spot to represent the United States in the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Her journey began at Rice in 2010 where she won Conference USA Championships in the pole vault. Then one day, during a workout at Herman Park, her focus began to shift. She’d stumbled upon a collection of apples near the bottom of a hill near the auditorium. In a bid to get out of the remainder of the workout, Ince made a bet with her coach that she could hit a chain fence at the top of the hill.

“I don’t remember how far away it was,” Ince recalled, “but it was car enough that [coach] thought I couldn’t do it.”

Ince grabbed an apple and let it fly. It sailed through the air, not only hitting the fence but going straight through it and exploding into a million pieces. And so the switch to javelin began. In the years that followed, she’s continued to hone her craft, spending time as a volunteer coach at Texas A&M and later training at the Olympic Training Center in California.

“Zoom doesn’t have a smell function,” she jokes as she relays the daily rigors of training in conjunction with the more normative challenges of the 9-to-5 life. Whether it’s dashing back and forth from the track to meetings without time to shower or the contrast of teaching others proper posture while contorting her own body to hurl a spear after hours, Ince has remained focused in the midst of it all.

Ince qualified for the Olympics based on her World Rankings score after placing fourth at the US Olympic Trials in late June. That comes months after the Games were delayed by COVID-19 and Ince, like many others, saw their professional athletic aspirations put on pause.

During the limbo, she continued working, spending time with a teammate in Colorado to train before returning to California. Months later, with a spot in the Games secure and a ticket punched to Tokyo, she can hardly process the magnitude. “I think probably I’ll feel a little bit incredulous,” she said, “that like, I actually did it.”

When she steps onto the field in Tokyo later this month, she’ll join Funmi Jimoh as the only two female Rice athletes to represent the United States at the Olympics. Ince says she knows Jimoh and the two have already joked about having meetings as the lone members of the exclusive club. The magnitude of that realization continues to loom large.

That connection, to Jimoh, to Rice and to her hometown of Gonzalez, Texas are things she’ll proudly bring with her on the journey. “Those ‘Come and Take It’ Flags,” she said with a grin, “We’re very proud of that.”

When the Olympic fanfare comes to an end, Ince has no plans to slow down. She’s already charted out a course of international competitions that span the next five years beyond Tokyo. The javelin is still very much in her future, just like it’s been a part of the present. And all the while, she’ll be helping others with their posture when the time comes to her “day job”.

“It makes me feel really balanced,” Ince says of her simultaneous pursuits of athletic and professional life, “I don’t have that same concern like ‘What do I do after sport?’ My whole thought process is life after sport is going to be so easy. All I have to do is go to work? Please, that’s going to be too easy.”

An observer of our zoom call to this point, current Rice Track and Field coach Jim Bevan chimes in with a brief, but a fitting review. “It’s such a treasure to listen to a Rice athlete being interviewed because they bring more to the page than just athletics,” he said. “I think it speaks well to Rice because we do truly feel we’re the home of the true student-athlete.”

Student. Check.

Athlete. Check.

At the risk of mixing metaphors, in so many ways, Ince has knocked both facets of her life out of the park. She admits she’ll probably have to find a new hobby when it does come time to hang up the cleats. But for now, she’s enjoying the ride. Now it’s onto Tokyo, and hopefully, a spot in the Finals.

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

Recent Posts

NIL and Rice Athletics: Owls embrace new opportunities

By

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.

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

Recent Posts

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

By

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.
      Become a Patron!
  • 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)

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.

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

Recent Posts

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

By

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?

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

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.

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($25) 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