Current News

A MESSAGE FROM CHRIS DEL CONTE, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

July 27, 2006

As we see the 2006-07 athletics calendar draw to a close, we continue to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our student-athletes both in the classroom and in competition.

Our football team brought the first semester to a memorable close by earning its first bowl berth in 45 years, and the spring semester has brought Rice the Conference USA championship in women’s basketball and swimming teams, as well as the men’s tennis squad. We’ve also marveled at the individual accomplishments of Morris Almond, the conference player of the year in men’s basketball, and Pablo Solares, who became Rice’s first All American in the indoor mile.

At the same time, our student-athletes continued to shine in the classroom. We had 182 individuals cited by the conference on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll (3.0 GPA or higher) and 26 were awarded the Commissioner’s Academic Medal, by virtue of posting a GPA of 3.75 or better. The NCAA honored 11 of our 16 sports with Public Recognition Awards for their ranking in the top 10% of their respective sports in the NCAA’s Academic Progress tracking initiative.

We are about to embark on an exciting new chapter of Rice Athletics with the renovation of Autry Court with the goal of providing the nation’s finest student-athletes with the facilities they deserve.

I look forward to visiting with you at future events and thank you for your continued interest and support of Rice Athletics.

Chris Del Conte

Athletic Director

Board of directors approve two major changes in the structure of the Association

The R-Association’s Board of Directors approved two major changes in the structure of our organization this past year. Paul Sutera’s message describes our partnership arrangement with the athletic department.

This arrangement will enable our organization to take advantage of personnel and clerical resources maintained by the Athletic Department. It will also streamline the manner in which we collect membership dues. Additionally, it will help us in our efforts to track former athletes who are eligible to become active members of the association. R-Association members who routinely support the Owl Club, as well as other athletic support groups, will now be able to accrue credit toward benefits formally limited to their Owl Club gift giving level. For example: A season ticket holder would qualify for reserved personalized football parking with a gift of $400 to the Owl Club Scholarship Fund and payment of his $100 annual R-Association dues ($500.total).

The R-Association’s board will continue to function as the policymaking entity for our organization and will continue to make decisions concerning all aspects of its activities.

The board also approved a change in the qualifications for membership in the association

There are three classifications of active members. Honorary Members are selected by the Association for their outstanding support of Rice athletics. Regular Members are former varsity athletes who were awarded a letter in their individual sport. Associate Members are cheerleaders, trainers, and managers.

The board has elected to add another qualification for the Associate Members classification. There are a number of former athletes who, while never earning a letter, contributed to their team’s accomplishments. In some cases this meant they did not log enough game playing time. There are also those who suffered career-ending injuries while participating with their teams. These individuals will now be able to take part in R-Association activities as active members in the Associate Members classification.

Don Rather, Outgoing President

Paul Sutera, Associate Athletic Director For Development, Describes The R-Association and Rice Athletic Fund Partnership

I would like to share with you some exciting developments regarding the relationship between the “R” Association and the athletic department at Rice University.

Over the course of the past 10-months your “R” Association board and I have been working together to foster a partnership that benefits the membership of this great association to ensure it is around to represent the letter winners and associate members (ie. cheerleaders, trainers, managers, participants, etc) for many years to come. One of the underlining questions that we wrestled with was how to grow membership (currently 11%) in your organization while providing enhanced benefits/opportunities to all.

In the past the University was not able to share its resources with the association, nor did it provide what I would call “back-of-the-house” operations, since the “R” Association operated as its own 501(c)3. After months of deliberation and input from many long-time “R” Association members the decision was made for the “R” Association to start operating under the umbrella that the athletic department recently created in January 2007 – the Rice Athletics Fund. This fund serves as an umbrella for those giving programs that have supported student-athletes so successfully in the past and for new fundraising initiatives that will propel our program to our high standards of excellence. The five areas under the Rice Athletics Fund are:

Owl Club Scholarship Fund: current-use scholarships
Athletic Scholarship Endowments: named, endowed scholarships
Athletic Capital Fund: facilities improvements
Sport Interest Groups (SIGs): enhanced operating budgets for individual sports
“R” Association of Letter winners: increased involvement of varsity alumni

The five above areas reflect the fundraising priorities of our athletic program. The “R” Association plays a vital role in boosting the visibility and pride of Rice Athletics, including sponsoring the all-sports banquet, the student academic award ceremony, the senior breakfast, post-graduate scholarships, and the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony (which incidentally will occur this September/October 2007).

An additional member benefit is that now any gift you make to the “R” Association (ie. year member of $100 or a lifetime membership of $1,000) counts towards your Rice Athletics annual giving level and corresponding benefits. In the past you only received benefits if you gave to the Owl Club. Though giving to the Owl Club is extremely important to the sustainability of our athletic program because it provides scholarships to our student-athletes we believe it is equally important for you to contribute toward the areas that you are passionate about while receiving recognition for your support.

Be on the lookout for additional value-added benefits with your association in the “R” Association. Please call on me (713-348-3561, sutera@rice.edu) if I can be of assistance to you or answer any questions that you might have.

Paul J. Sutera

Associate Athletic Director – Development

Rice Hall of Fame Ceremony...October 19, 2007

TEN ARE INDUCTED INTO THE RICE HALL OF FAME

The Rice Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, one of the most important and exciting events in Rice athletics, takes place once every two years. This year's event was held on Friday, Oct. 19, 2007, at the Cohen House.

Those inducted into the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame were Victor Lopez, former women's track and field head coach; from baseball, Mark Quinn (1995); footballer J.D. Smith (1959); volleyball player Samantha Waldron-Shannon (1995); and, the 1997 NCAA indoor women's champion 4x400m relay team consisting of Andrea Blackett, Melissa Straker-Taylor, Tanisha Mills, and Margaret Fox-Melton.

The R Association also honored Robert Schlanger with an Honorary "R" for his decades of loyal service to Rice athletics. The Distinguished "R" was awarded to former basketball player and current Rice Board of Trustees member, Robert Tudor III.

VICTOR LOPEZ is one of the most successful Rice head coaches in Rice’s history. He served as the Owls' women's track and field head coach for 26 years Under his tutelage the Owls captured three indoor conference titles, four outdoor conference titles, and three cross country conference titles. Additionally, his student-athletes earned All-America honors 152 times and won 14 national titles and one relay national title.

Mark Quinn lettered in baseball at Rice in 1994 and 1995 as third baseman and designated hitter earning two-time All-SWC accolades. In 1995, Quinn led the Owls in hitting (.380), home runs (18), hits (95), and RBI (89). He was selected in the 11th round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals and on September 14, 1999, Quinn became just the third player in MLB history to hit two home runs in his major league debut.

J.D. (Jesse Daley) Smith, from Richland Springs, Texas, was a giant in the trenches standing at 6’4 and weighing 230 pounds as an offensive tackle for the Rice Owls from 1956 to 1958. Smith earned All-SWC first team honors in 1958. He was the Philadelphia Eagles’ first draft pick in 1960, and a year later the Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers to claim the NFL championship. The following season he was named to the 1961 Pro Bowl team. J.D. played a total of eight years in the NFL.

Samantha (Sammy) Waldron-Shannon is perhaps the greatest Rice Owl volleyball player of all-time. During her four seasons at Rice, Waldron tormented the opposition with her ferocious outside hitting and concluded her career as the Southwest Conference all-time kills leader with 1,830 and as the SWC season kills leader (604). She was first team All-SWC in 1993, 1994, and 1995. Waldron became Rice's only American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American in 1995.

The 4x400m Relay Team of Andrea Blackett, Melissa Straker, Tanisha Mills, and Margaret Fox-Melton became the first Rice relay quartet to win an NCAA title when they won the 1997 NCAA indoor 4x400m event. The indoor title was Rice's fourth overall and its first in a running event ever. The winning time of 3:34.44 shattered a 10-year-old school record of 3:36.48.

Bob Schlanger was awarded the Honorary R for his tireless support of Rice Athletics. He has donated countless hours of his time, and he has aided Rice University financially as well. Bob has become heavily involved with the Rice Athletic Department’s game day operations as timer and scoreboard operator at Rice’s basketball, soccer, and baseball events. Since the Baylor game in 1983, Bob has attended 253 of 255 Rice football games at home and on the road.

Bobby Tudor was awarded the Distinguished R Award. This award is given to a member of the R Assocation who has earned a letter, has shown an interest in Rice athletics since graduation, has led an exemplary life, and has served his or her community. Tudor lettered in basketball from 1979-82 and was a team captain. He received the Bob Quin Award in 1983. Bobby is currently a member of Rice’s Board of Trustees. He and his wife, Phoebe, recently donated seven million dollars to the Autry Court renovation project.