Rice Athletics…
Unconventional Success
Rick Greenspan
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics,
Recreation and Lifetime Fitness
September 14, 2010
Rice Athletics …
Mission Statement
 In support of the educational mission of Rice
University – our mission is to guide and
support Rice students in the pursuit of
excellence – academically, athletically, and
socially. Above all else, we produce
difference-makers.
 Guiding Principles: Respect, Positive Attitude,
Focus, Accountability and Continuous
Improvement
Rice Athletics …
Core Purpose
 Our purpose is to govern competition in a fair, safe, equitable and sportsmanlike
manner, and to integrate intercollegiate athletics into higher education so that the
educational experience of the student-athlete is paramount.
Core Values
 The Association - through its member institutions, conferences and national office
staff - shares a belief in and commitment to:
 The collegiate model of athletics in which students participate as an avocation,
balancing their academic, social and athletics experiences.
 The highest levels of integrity and sportsmanship.
 The pursuit of excellence in both academics and athletics.
 The supporting role that intercollegiate athletics plays in the higher education
mission and in enhancing the sense of community and strengthening the identity
of member institutions.
 An inclusive culture that fosters equitable participation for student-athletes and
career opportunities for coaches and administrators from diverse backgrounds.
 Respect for institutional autonomy and philosophical differences.
 Presidential leadership of intercollegiate athletics at the campus, conference and
national levels.
Rice Athletics …
Vision
 Pursuit of excellence and integrity in athletics, in academics and in our
communities; and to be recognized as a progressive leader in intercollegiate
athletics.
Core Values
 Integrity
 Excellence in Academics and Athletics
 Student-Athlete Welfare
 Innovation/Leadership
 Sportsmanship
 Equity and Diversity
Mission Statement
 Operate with integrity and advance high standards of academic performance,
sportsmanship and equity
 Organize, administer and promote intercollegiate athletics at nationally
competitive levels on behalf of our members and their student-athletes.
Rice Athletics …
Who we are
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16 Division I NCAA Sports
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Baseball
Men’s Basketball
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Cross Country
Football
Men’s Golf
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Swimming
Women’s Tennis
Men’s Tennis
Men’s Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field
Women’s Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field
Volleyball
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Competing in C-USA
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University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Central Florida
East Carolina University
University of Houston
Marshall University
University of Memphis
University of Southern Mississippi
Southern Methodist University
University of Texas @ El Paso
Tulane University
University of Tulsa
Rice Athletics …
Who we are
Male/Female
 Male -249
 Female-133
 Total-382
State/Int’l
Representation
 States-36
 International-18
34.82%
Male to Females
65.18%
Male
Female
18
States
36
International
Rice Athletics …
Who we are
Ethnicities
 Caucasian-229
 African American-75
 Asian American-13
 Native American-5
 Hispanic-5
 Internationals-35
 Multi-Racial-19
 Mexican-American-9
 Other-3
3.40%
4.97% 2.36%
1.31%
1.31%
Ethnicities
0.79%
Caucasian
African American
9.16%
Asian American
Native American
19.63%
59.95%
Hispanic
Internationals
Mulit-Racial
Mexican-American
Other
Rice Athletics …
In the Classroom 2009-10
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Six Owls earn Academic All-America honor
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A record four Owls earned prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarships
John Berens – Men’s Track
Jessie Boulavsky – Volleyball
Erin Scott – Women’s Soccer
Kateyln Ostendof – Women’s Soccer
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Rice wins its fifth-consecutive (out of a possible five) C-USA Institutional
Excellence Award in recognition of its student-athletes
posting the highest combined GPA among conference members.
Rice’s combined GPA of 3.167 is its highest in five years as a member
of C-USA.
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Rice places a record 227 student-athletes on the 2009-10 C-USA
Commissioner’s Honor Roll
Rice Athletics …
In the Classroom 2009 -10
 Rice’s Federal Graduation Rate for Student-
Athletes is 85%.
 Rice’s Graduation Success Rate for those who
exhaust their athletic eligibility is 98%. Ranks
6th among NCAA Division I FBS institutions.
Rice Athletics …
In the Classroom
APR Public Recognition 2008-09
University
# of Sponsored
Sports in
APR top 10%
% of Sponsored
Sports in
APR Top
10%
# of Sponsored
Sports per
University
Duke University
15
26
57.7%
Notre Dame, University of
14
26
53.8%
Northwestern University
10
19
52.6%
Boston College
13
29
44.8%
Vanderbilt
7
16
43.8%
RICE UNIVERSITY
6
16
37.5%
US Naval Academy
9
24
37.5&
North Carolina, Univ of (Chapel Hill)
8
28
28.6&
Stanford University
8
31
25.8%
Virginia, University of
6
25
24.0%
Michigan, University of
6
27
22.2%
Academic Progress Rate (APR) is a term by term measure of student-athletes’ eligibility, retention, and
graduation.
*Rank in FBS; 27th in all Division I (335 schools)
Rice Athletics …
Athletic Achievements 2009-10
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Baseball, Men’s Tennis, Volleyball and Golf earn berths in NCAA postseason play.
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Baseball, Volleyball and Men’s Tennis win C-USA team championships
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Four coaches (Wayne Graham-baseball; Seth Houston-women’s swimming; Ron Smarr-men’s
tennis; Drew Scott-men’s golf) earn C-USA Coach of the Year honors.
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Anthony Rendon named Dick Howser, Baseball America and College Baseball Writer’s
National College Baseball Player of the Year College. Rendon becomes the third Owl in the
last four years to be named C-USA Male Athlete of the Year.
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Meredith Shamun, National Volleyball Setter of the Year
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Bruno Rosa (Men’s tennis) and Anthony Rendon (baseball) earn C-USA Player of the Year
honors.
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Christopher Brown becomes Rice’s first medalist in conference golf competition since 1989.
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Philip Adam repeats as an Academic All American and earns All America honors in the
decathlon…becomes the first two-time, first-team, Academic All-American in track in C-USA
history.
Rice Athletics …
In the Classroom 2009-10
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Fall of 2009 – 13 out of 16 teams had better than a 3.0 team semester GPA
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Spring of 2010 - 12 out of 16 teams had better than a 3.0 team semester GPA
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Six Owls earn Academic All-America honor
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A record four Owls earned prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarships (John Berens –
Men’s Track; Jessie Boulavsky – Volleyball; Erin Scott – Women’s Soccer; Kateyln Ostendof –
Women’s Soccer)
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Rice wins its fifth-consecutive (out of a possible five) C-USA Institutional Excellence Award in
recognition of its student-athletes posting the highest combined GPA among conference
members. Rice’s combined GPA of 3.167 is its highest in five years as a member of C-USA.
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A record number of 227 Rice student-athletes were named to were named to the C-USA’s
Commissioner’s Honor Roll with a 3.0 cumulative GPA. This represents 63% or our studentathletes, the highest number and percentage of all C-USA institutions.
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Five Rice student-athletes earned C-USA Scholar Athlete of the Year for their respective
sport.
Rice Athletics …
Student-Athlete Development
Professional Development
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over 550 individual meetings hosted with over 125 student-athletes
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Hosted career panels, resume writing & review; mock interviews, “What do I want to be
…”
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Connected with over 400 alumni who have provided time, advice, mentoring current
SAs.
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Worked with over 30 companies who have employed current SAs in undergraduate
internships
Personal Development
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Conducted sessions in nutrition, alcohol responsibility, etiquette, personal finance,
“What to do before I sign,” confidence/self-esteem, healthy relationships, personal
sexual responsibility and social networking responsibility.
Community Service
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Rice SAs participated in well over 1,500 hours of community service activities.
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Most successful community service project was the “Rice Readers” program with our
local elementary schools (114 SAs representing every sports participated)
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2009-10 Rice Athletics Community Service award presented to volleyball and swim
team. Averaged over 20 hours of volunteer time per student-athlete.
Rice Athletics …
Who Knew
Graduate Outcomes: Of the 55 active student-athletes:
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Employed 22 (40%)
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Accenture, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, BP, Capital One, Deloitte, Duncanville High
School, Ernst & Young, Iowa State University, Krueger & Catalano, Capital Partners, LLC,
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Quorum, Teach for America
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Reported salary ranges were $50,000 ‐ $65,000 with “signing” bonuses ranging from $3,000 ‐
$10,000 and one offer including graduate school and the sponsoring of the student‐athlete’s
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Grad /school - 24 (43.6%)
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Chiropractic School - Parker College or Texas Chiropractic College
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Developmental Psychology – University of Houston
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Law - Vanderbilt University, University of Arkansas, Texas Wesleyan, John Marshall, Brooklyn
Law School
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MBA – Florida A&M,
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Medicine – Baylor, Washington University, Emory University, Duke University Physical
Therapy
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Professional Careers – 7 student‐athletes: 2 Football, 2 Golf, 2 Baseball, 1 Basketball
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Undecided - Only 2 student‐athletes are classified as “not‐seeking”.
Rice Athletics …
Rice is in a state of transition
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“Rice is in a state of transition. It is a transition from good to better. Facing
extraordinary opportunity, the institution is about to become braver,
stronger, sounder, and more beautiful. What of truth has been attained
here by teachers and thinkers, will abide… What of beauty has been
wrought here by architects and engineers, will endure… What of courage
and freedom, of conscience and fair play, has been achieved here by
students and researchers, will continue… And at Rice the good life will
continue to be lived, but better.”
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-Edgar Odell Lovett introducing his successor, March 4, 1946
Rice Athletics …
Senior staff
Rick Greenspan
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Recreation
and Lifetime Fitness
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Master’s Degree Idaho State University; B.S. University of
Maryland; Athletic Director previously at United States Military
Academic at West Point and Indiana University
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Director of Rice Athletics 16 Division I programs and Rice
University’s Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and
Wellness Center
Rice Athletics …
Senior staff
Leslie Claybrook
Senior Associate Athletics Director / Senior Woman
Administrator
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B.A. University of Alabama; M.Ed. Mercer University; women’s
basketball student-athlete at Alabama; previously Associate
Athletics Director at Samford University and BirminghamSouthern College
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Academics
Admissions Liaison
Coordinator for departmental diversity and equity planning
NCAA Compliance
RUAC Liaison
Student-Athlete Development
SWA duties with NCAA and Conference USA
Sport Administrator – Women’s Basketball, Golf, Swimming,
Women’s Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Track & Field/Cross
Country, and Volleyball
Rice Athletics …
Senior staff
Brian Michael Cooper
Business & Finance Operations Manager
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A.B. Cornell, M.P.P. Harvard and J.D. Columbia; football
student-athlete at Cornell; previously President of the Rio
Grande Valley Vipers and practicing attorney
Administer personnel, game and vendor contracts
 Assist in the development of multiyear strategic and
financial planning
 Develop cost saving initiatives
 Special Projects
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Rice Athletics …
Senior staff
Dr. Jack Garrett
Senior Associate Athletics Director Sport Administration and Support
Services
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B.S.E. Northwest Missouri State University; M.S.E. Idaho State
University; Ph.D. Texas A&M University; previously Associate Athletics
Director at Indiana University and 20 year faculty member at
Augustana College (chair of the education department)
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Equipment room operations
Strength and Conditioning
Facility Planning
Facility Scheduling
Event Management
Sport Administrator – Baseball, Soccer and Men’s Tennis
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Rice Athletics …
Senior staff
Jerry Lewis
Associate Athletics Director - Finance
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B.B.A. Bryant University; C.P.A. State of Texas; former U.S. Army
Paratrooper (Infantry); employed at Rice for 24 years.
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Daily Budget Management
Coordination of financial matters
Audit
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Rice Athletics …
Senior staff
Rick Mello
Senior Executive Athletics Director
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B.S. Utah State University; previously Associate Commissioner at
Sun Belt Conference; Athletic Director at FIU and Arkansas State
University
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Budget Oversight and Planning
Development
Human Resources
IMG Relationship
Licensing
Marketing, Sales and Promotion
Sports Information
Ticket Office
Sport Liaison – Men’s Basketball and Football
Rice Athletics …
Senior staff
Tina Villard
Director of Recreation Center and Activities
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M.S. Middle Tennessee State University; B. S. Brock University; employed at Rice
10 years
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Operations of Gibbs Recreation Center and associated facilities
Recreation programming
Recreation facility scheduling
Recreation Center memberships
Administration of Recreation Center
Programming of Recreation and Activities
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Rice Athletics …
I Believe …
Rice Athletics …
Overall Objectives
Rice Athletics …
Ticket Information
We need you in the stands to support our
outstanding student-athletes and excellent
coaches!
 Tickets are available through our ticket office!
 Free to all athletic events (except football and
men’s basketball)
 Contact ticket office at ext. 4068 or
tickets@rice.edu
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QUESTIONS