Rice Owls football

TheRice Owls footballprogram representsRice Universityin the sport ofAmerican football. The team competes at theNCAA Division I FBSlevel and compete in theAmerican Athletic Conference.Rice Stadium, built in 1950, hosts the Owls' home football games. Rice has the second-smallest undergraduate enrollment of any FBS member, ahead of onlyTulsa.
Rice fielded its first football team in 1912, not long after opening its doors. Three years later, it joined theSouthwest Conferenceas a charter member.
For the better part of half a century, Rice was a regional and national powerhouse. However, by the early 1960s, Rice found it increasingly difficult to field competitive teams. For most of its tenure in the SWC, it was one of only four private schools in the conference, and by far the smallest in terms of undergraduate enrollment. However, by the latter part of longtime coachJess Neely's tenure, Rice found itself competing against schools ten times or more its size, and often had more freshmen than Rice had total undergraduates. From 1964 to 1991, Rice had only one overall winning season, and only finished as high as third in SWC play once.
Fred Goldsmithtook over as head coach in 1989, and led the Owls to a 6-5 overall record and a tie for second place in 1992, their best finish in 28 years. However, a 61–34 loss to in-city rivalHoustonkept them out of their first bowl game in 31 years. Goldsmith left for Duke in 1993 and was succeeded by formerClemsoncoachKen Hatfield, who tallied only three winning seasons in 12 years. While the Owls were bowl-eligible in those three years, they didn't receive bowl bids due to their small alumni and fan base.
Todd Grahambecame head coach in 2006, and led the Owls to their first bowl game in 35 years, the2006 New Orleans Bowl. He left after only one year and was succeeded byDavid Bailiff, who took the Owls to three bowl games in 11 years, including their first 10-win seasons in half a century.
The Owls played in the1954 Cotton Bowl Classicagainstthe Crimson Tide of Alabama. The game featured one of the most famous plays in college football historywhen Rice'sDickey Moegle(later Maegle) burst free on a sweep play, and on his way down the sideline, was tackled byTommy 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 untilTony Temple's effort in2008. This would be the Owls' last bowl win until the2008 Texas Bowl, a win which also secured the Owls their first 10-win season since 1949.
Rice Stadium also hosted a "We choose to go to the Moon" speech byJohn F. Kennedyon September 12, 1962. In it, he used the Rice football team to challenge America to send a man to the Moon before 1970.
† 15–27–2 overall per NCAA due to 1975 forfeit win over Mississippi State.
Rice has won eight conference championships, five outright and three shared.
† Co-championship
Rice has won two division championships.
† Co-championship
Rice has participated in 14 bowl games, garnering a record of 7–7.
Rice Stadiumwas built in 1950, and has been the home of Owls football ever since. It hosted theNFLSuper Bowlin January 1974. It replaced the oldRice Field(nowRice Track/Soccer Stadium) to increase seating. Totalseating capacityin the current stadium was reduced from 70,000 to 47,000 before the 2006 season. The endzone seating benches were removed and covered with tarps, and all of the wooden bleachers were replaced with new, metal seating benches in 2006, as well. The stadium is also undergoing further renovations.
Rice andSMUwere members of the same conference from 1918 through 2012, and have played each other 90 times as of 2012 with SMU leading the series 48–41–1. The rivalry is because Rice and SMU were two of four private schools in theSouthwest Conference(Baylor and TCU were the others). Rice and SMU were also the two smallest schools in the conference, were located in the two largest cities of any teams in the conference (Houston and Dallas, respectively), and have historically been considered the two best private universities in Texas.
SMU leads the series 48–41–1 as of 2017.
Rice participates in acrosstown rivalrywithHouston. UH and Rice play annually for theBayou Bucket, a weathered bucket found by former Rice guardFred Curryat an antique shop. Curry had it designed into a trophy for $310. The two universities are separated by five miles in Houston. Despite being in separate conferences, the two teams still play as non-conference foes as future schedules allow.
Houston leads the series 33–12 as of 2023.
Rice andTexashave maintained a largely one-sided rivalry beginning in the early days of theSouthwest Conference. Texas' 28 consecutive victories from 1966 to 1993 represents the sixth longestsingle-opponent winning streakin college football history.  In 1994, in a nationally televisedESPNgame, Rice scored a major upset win over Texas, but since then Texas has resumed series dominance.  Despite the dissolution of the Southwest Conference, Texas and Rice still play on a "near annual" basis, allowing the Longhorns to keep a high profile in the state's largest city and the fourth largest city in the United States.
Texas leads the series 72–21–1 as of the conclusion of the 2017 season.
Eight former Rice players and coaches have been inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame.
As of 2017, the following 18 players have been namedAll-Americawith 6 selection being consensus.
† Consensus selection
Announced schedules as of October 10, 2024.