Rice University Football

 

Rice University Head Football Coach David Bailiff spoke to the group regarding the state of the University's football program and shared stories about his coaching background and about his tenure on the Rice sidelines. Coach Bailiff cited former Southwest Texas State Head Football Coach Jim Whacker as his inspiration on and off the football field.  He noted the genuine love and respect Coach Whacker showed his staff and players and mentioned that he was a man who "never had a bad day."  Coach Bailiff said he does his best to show that same love and respect to his current players and to display the positive attitude Coach Whacker exuded day in and day out (no matter the circumstances).

 

The Rice University Football program is looking for young men who truly want to make a difference in the world.  According to Coach Bailiff, "life is too short to coach turds!"  Football players at Rice are true student athletes.  It isn't unusual to field players that are interning at NASA and other prestigious institutions while balancing rigorous academics and football.  The minimum SAT score for Rice Football is 1100 (with certain exceptions as the University touts a holistic approach to recruiting), and the minimum score needed to walk-on is 1300!!  Rice Football graduates a whopping 96-100% of its players, close to first among all NCAA Division I programs.  Rice recruits predominantly in Texas, but it's academic reputation attracts students to the football program nationwide. 

 

Rice University is a member of Conference USA and is a past conference champion.  Rice struggled to 3-9 this past season, but Coach Bailiff reminded the group that teams win with juniors and seniors, and that last year's team was a very young one. The team opens the upcoming season against Stanford in Australia (wow)!  Lets wish the Owls the best of luck in their 2017-2018 campaign!