| Rice Owls | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Current season: 2019 Rice Owls
| |||
| |||
| First season | 1912 | ||
| Athletic director | Joe Karlgaard | ||
| Head coach | Mike Bloomgren | ||
| 2nd year, 2–18 (.100) | |||
| Home stadium | Rice Stadium | ||
| Year built | 1950 | ||
| Stadium capacity | 47,000 | ||
| Stadium surface | FieldTurf | ||
| Location | Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||
| Conference | Conference USA | ||
| Division | West | ||
| Past conferences | Southwest Conference (1915–1996) Western Athletic Conference (1996–2004) | ||
| All-time history | |||
| All-time record | 466–589–32 (.443) | ||
| Postseason bowl record | 7–5 (.583) | ||
| Conference titles | 8 (1934, 1937, 1946, 1949, 1953, 1957, 1994, 2013) | ||
| Division titles | 2 (2008, 2013) | ||
| Rivalries | SMU Mustangs (rivalry) Houston (rivalry) Texas Longhorns (rivalry) | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | Template:American college football All-Americans | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Blue[1] and Gray[1]
| ||
| Fight song | Rice Fight | ||
| Mascot | Sammy the Owl | ||
| Marching band | Marching Owl Band | ||
| Outfitter | Adidas | ||
| Website | riceowls.com | ||
The Rice Owls football team represents Rice University located in Houston, Texas. The Owls are a member of the NCAA FBS American Athletic Conference and play their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston. The Owls are currently coached by Scott Abell.
History[]
1954 Cotton Bowl Classic[]
The Owls played in the eighteenth Cotton Bowl Classic against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The game featured one of the most famous plays in college football history[2] when Rice's Dickey Moegle (later Maegle) burst free on a sweep play, and on his way down the sideline, was tackled by Tommy Lewis, who had come off the Alabama sideline without his helmet to tackle Moegle. Referee Cliff Shaw saw Lewis come off the bench and gave the Owls the 95 yard touchdown. Rice would win the game 28–6, with the only Crimson Tide score coming from Lewis. The yardage added to Moegle's 265 yards rushing, a Cotton Bowl Classic record that would stand until Tony Temple's effort in 2008. This would be the Owls' last bowl win until the 2008 Texas Bowl, a win which also secured the Owls their first 10-win season since 1949.[3]
Kennedy Speech[]
Kennedy at Rice University – GPN-2000-001618
Rice Stadium also hosted a speech by John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1962. In it, he used the Rice football team to challenge America to send a man to the moon.
- But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.[4]
Affiliations[]
- 2023-present - American Athletic Conference
- 2005-2022 - Conference USA
- 1996-2004 - Western Athletic Conference
- 1915-1996 - Southwest Conference
- 1912-1914 - Independent
Logos/Uniforms[]
Image gallery[]
Seasons[]
2020s[]
| Season | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Scott Abell | |
| 2024 | Mike Bloomgren; Pete Alamar | 4-8 |
| 2023 | Mike Bloomgren | 6-7 |
| 2022 | Mike Bloomgren | 5-8 |
| 2021 | Mike Bloomgren | 4-8 |
| 2020 | Mike Bloomgren | 2-3 |
2010s[]
| Season | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Mike Bloomgren | 3-9 |
| 2018 | Mike Bloomgren | 2-11 |
| 2017 | David Bailiff | 1-11 |
| 2016 | David Bailiff | 3-9 |
| 2015 | David Bailiff | 5-7 |
| 2014 | David Bailiff | 8-5 |
| 2013 | David Bailiff | 10-4 |
| 2012 | David Bailiff | 7-6 |
| 2011 | David Bailiff | 4-8 |
| 2010 | David Bailiff | 4-8 |
2000s[]
| Season | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | David Bailiff | 2-10 |
| 2008 | David Bailiff | 10-3 |
| 2007 | David Bailiff | 3-9 |
| 2006 | Todd Graham | 7-6 |
| 2005 | Ken Hatfield | 1-10 |
| 2004 | Ken Hatfield | 3-8 |
| 2003 | Ken Hatfield | 5-7 |
| 2002 | Ken Hatfield | 4-7 |
| 2001 | Ken Hatfield | 8-4 |
| 2000 | Ken Hatfield | 3-8 |
1990s[]
| Season | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Ken Hatfield | 5-6 |
| 1998 | Ken Hatfield | 5-6 |
| 1997 | Ken Hatfield | 7-4 |
| 1996 | Ken Hatfield | 7-4 |
| 1995 | Ken Hatfield | 2-8-1 |
| 1994 | Ken Hatfield | 5-6 |
| 1993 | ||
| 1992 | ||
| 1991 | ||
| 1990 |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Color palette. Rice University. Retrieved on April 13, 2017.
- ↑ Dickey Moegle in the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic. Article. Retrieved on December 29, 2008.
- ↑ Associated Press. "Rice rolls Western Michigan for first bowl win since '54", ESPN.com, 2008-12-30. Retrieved on 2008-12-31.
- ↑ John F. Kennedy Moon Speech - Rice Stadium. Retrieved on 26 December 2018.
External Links[]
- Rice Owls football article at Wikipedia
- Official team site
