University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Getting to Know...Rice
8/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -
The countdown continues to the 2016 Southern Miss football season.
In a rundown of the Golden Eagles’ opponents during the upcoming season, the latest installment highlights the Owls of Rice who come to Hattiesburg and The Rock, Saturday, Oct. 1, in a 6 p.m., contest.
This will be the fourth time the Owls make a trip to the Hub City for football. Here is a look at this year’s Rice Owls.
Getting to know... Rice
General Information
Location: Houston, Texas
Founded: 1912
Enrollment: 6,498
President: David W. Leebron
Athletics Director: Joe Karlgaard
Conference: Conference USA
Nickname: Owls
Colors: Blue and White
Stadium (Cap.): Rice Stadium (47,000)
Playing Surface: Astroturf 3D60H
Series Record: Rice leads 4-2
Last Meeting: W, 65-10 - 11/14/15 - Houston, Texas
Head Coach: David Bailiff
Record at School: 53-60
Overall Record: 74-75
2015 Record: 5-7
2015 Conference Record: 3-5
2015 Postseason: n/a
Final AP Rank: n/a
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 52/17
Starters Returning/Lost: 19/7
Offense: 7/4
Defense: 9/2
Special Teams: 3/1
Head Coach:
David Bailiff embarks upon his 10th season at Rice this fall. Bailiff has built a program that has become one of the most consistent in Conference USA. Rice's 18-9 mark from 2013-14 was also the second best of any FBS program in Texas. He has led the Owls to two of the three 10-win seasons in school history and has won eight or more games three times, matching Jess Neely for the most at Rice. Rice's 30-3 win over Fresno State in the Hawai'i Bowl was its third bowl championship in four games for Bailiff, joining wins in the 2008 Texas Bowl and 2012 Armed Forces Bowl.
Bailiff has twice been honored by his peers as C-USA Coach of the Year (2008 & 2013) and after leading the Owls to their first outright conference championship in 56 years in 2013, he joined Art Briles (Baylor), Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), Gus Malzahn (Auburn) and David Shaw (Stanford) as finalists the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year award. He was also honored by the San Antonio Express News as its Co-Sportsman of the Year.
While reaching new heights on the field, Bailiff's teams continue to excel in the classroom while also making a profound impact on the Houston community.
Football Stadium:
Rice Stadium has been the scene of many exciting moments in the football histories of Rice, the city of Houston and the National Football League. At various times, the stadium has served as the home stadium for the Bluebonnet Bowl, the University of Houston, Texas Southern University and the NFL's Houston Oilers.
On Jan. 13, 1974, Rice Stadium was the site of Super Bowl VIII, in which the Miami Dolphins defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24-7. Rice Stadium is one of only three campus facilities still in operation that have hosted a Super Bowl (Sun Devil Stadium and Stanford Stadium are the others). Tulane hosted three Super Bowls at Sugar Bowl Stadium before it was torn down in the mid 1970's.
The Stadium has also held major concerts. Huge crowds were part of the excitement for the Pink Floyd, Eagles, Elton John\Billy Joel, and George Strait concerts in recent years.
More than 10,000,000 fans have watched Rice Owls football at Rice Stadium.
About Houston:
Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth-most populous city in the United States, located in Southeast Texas near the Gulf of Mexico. With a census-estimated 2014 population of 2.239 million within a land area of 599.6 square miles (1,553 km2), it also is the largest city in the Southern United States, as well as the seat of Harris County. It is the principal city of Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, which is the fifth-most populated metropolitan area in the United States.
Houston was founded in 1836 near the banks of Buffalo Bayou (now known as Allen's Landing) and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837. The city was named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had commanded and won at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles (40 km) east of where the city was established. The burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the city's population. In the mid-20th century, Houston became the home of the Texas Medical Center—the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where the Mission Control Center is located.
Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation. It is also leading in health care sectors and building oilfield equipment; only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters within its city limits.
Notable Alumni:
* Larry McMurtry, the famed Texas novelist, screenwriter and bookseller, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his book "Lonesome Dove", earned his Master of Arts degree from Rice University in 1960. McMurry also has won an Academy Award and Golden Globe in his distinguished writing career.
* Lance Berkman, a six-time MLB All-Star and former Astros first baseman, was the 1997 National College Player of the Year as a member of the Rice baseball team. He finished his career at Rice with 67 home runs, 272 RBI and a .386 batting average.
* John Heisman, for whom college football's Heisman Trophy is named, coached the Rice Owls football team from 1924-1927.
* Houston-born astronaut and physicist Shannon Walker earned her bachelor, master and doctoral degrees from Rice University.
* Venture capitalist L. John Doerr earned his bachelor and masters degrees from Rice University. Throughout his career, he has helped fund projects for Compaq, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Amazon.com, Intuit, Macromedia and Google.
* Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales earned his bachelor's degree from Rice University in 1979.
