https://colleges.niche.com/rice-university/athletics/
Overall ranking was #5 in the USA, #1 in Texas on their main page rankings.

Disappointing to see a "c" in Drugs, which holds Rice back from being ranked higher...and Parking was ranked low. What's wrong with getting exercise walking from stadium lot? keeps you fit and healthy, right?

Still haven't finished watching the Hawaii Bowl yet, so I chose to reserve comments until I do. Dec 24 made it impossible for me to see it live due to church services, but glad we got a W, and the players got a nice trip. Hope I can get a chance to watch it before Christmas Season ends next weekend. Merry Christmas!

Their full updated rankings are on this page:
https://colleges.niche.com/rankings/
and their methodology:
https://colleges.niche.com/rankings/best...thodology/

Top 17 (I added the embellishments to school names for entertainment purposes):
1. Stanford (not sitford) 2. MIT (not Romney) 3. Haaaa-rvard 4. Yalello 5. Rice (it's what's for dinner) 6. Pennt up frustration 7. Princeton and Princesston 8. WU-hoo St. Louis 9. USCalifornia (not Carolina)10. Vanderbilt this 11. Dukie 12. Brown is not just a color 13. Bowdoin before the one you serve14. UNC-Chapel Hill (might need to adjust that academic ranking now) 15. Columbia (nothing funny there) 16. Not the Dame I thought she was 17. yet another UT wearing orange

In reading the various comments from Rice students from this ranking on the Niche site the thing that really jumped out at me was the obvious marketing opportunity. Something which would be simple and inexpensive to implement, but might very well go a long way towards changing the student culture at Rice towards athletics. I pulled these two comments which were more or less representative of most:

"College Junior Nov 14 2014

Athletics: Rice students have been generally apathetic towards varsity athletics in the past; however, in recent years, there has been a push to attend games and show more support. I am not a student athlete, but some of my friends have mentioned that the facilities are lacking. IMs are a huge part of sports at Rice and almost everyone participates in powderpuff."

and:

"College Freshman Oct 7 2014

Athletics: Simply due to its small size, Rice Athletic competitions are not too attended. There is always people in the student section at football games but there are simply not enough students or fans around the city; therefore, the stadium always looks miserably empty. Intramural sports are very fun and very easy to partake in. Representing your residential college in IM sports is always really fun. The ones that are actually taken seriously are Powderpuff and Freshman Flag Football (for some colleges)"

The comments seem to indicate more Rice students like sports than come out to watch the Div I games, so it might do well to seek to tie those more closely together to reduce the apathy factor.

If I'm in the Rice athletics marketing department, I look into possibility of doing a couple of things with this information:

1. Seek to have representation/athletics team branding (football and basketball especially)/ advertising/banners/small giveaways at as many intramural contests as possible. Make sure I have someone assigned to be at as many intramural contests as possible throughout the year to interact and be a contact person/liaison to the general student body. Present small trophies for intramural winners with prizes of swag available if they present a voucher at a game, etc.. Have some coaches and/or players be involved in some trophy presentations for IM winners.

2. Have as many intramural tie-ins as possible before/during (halftime, intermission)/after Rice football and basketball games. Maybe a "mini"-powder-puff or freshman flag football exhibition contest for five minutes at halftime in the stadium for the top teams, or a mini basketball exhibition (maybe a mini badminton contest between two really good IM players) at halftime of some home men's and women's basketball games. Other IM contests could try to have some of their playoff or championship contests before or after some games. You could do the same for tennis and swimming contests, etc... Give a prize for those who bring the most friends to come watch them- have a way of tabulating and attributing their attendance- with all their iphones and such, should be simple to do with a computer as they walk in. This extends your marketing team to an student "street team" the way rock promoters do, and it's virtually free of cost.

Note: If you say "it's not worth the time and effort to try to engage so few students through paying more attention to Rice intra-murals" remember to look at it as a long-term investment in the future of Rice athletics as far as donors: Some of those kids who participate might graduate to become multimillionaires afterwards. Maybe the badminton player becomes a start-up wunderkind who ten years later is in position to donate millions. Certainly worth hiring just one low-0salaried full-time employee in the Athletic dept to solely concentrate on Intra-Mural liaison duties. You only need one future million-dollar or multi-million dollar donor to Rice athletics you would not have had before to make the return pay off your upfront investment.

We're looking for more Rice T.Boone Pickens', right? Well, they are there on campus right now, and many may not be coming out to watch the football or basketball team, but those future Rice T. Boone Pickens' may well be really good and competitive at badminton or flag football, etc... Invest in connecting to them now and they may remember Rice Athletics the same way Patterson did years later for the EZF donation.

(01-06-2015 03:19 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  "College Freshman Oct 7 2014

Athletics: Simply due to its small size, Rice Athletic competitions are not too attended. There is always people in the student section at football games but there are simply not enough students or fans around the city; therefore, the stadium always looks miserably empty. Intramural sports are very fun and very easy to partake in. Representing your residential college in IM sports is always really fun. The ones that are actually taken seriously are Powderpuff and Freshman Flag Football (for some colleges)"

Egad! Did a student at a selective university really write this?

(01-06-2015 03:48 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(01-06-2015 03:19 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  "College Freshman Oct 7 2014

Athletics: Simply due to its small size, Rice Athletic competitions are not too attended. There is always people in the student section at football games but there are simply not enough students or fans around the city; therefore, the stadium always looks miserably empty. Intramural sports are very fun and very easy to partake in. Representing your residential college in IM sports is always really fun. The ones that are actually taken seriously are Powderpuff and Freshman Flag Football (for some colleges)"

Egad! Did a student at a selective university really write this?

Not sure what's wrong with the its. Its is the possessive form of it, which is correct in this case (as I assume they are trying to say due to Rice's small size).

But I can't defend the rest, sheesh.

It's the word "competitions." When writing that sentence, the antecedent winds up being Rice Athletic Competitions, not the assumed reference to Rice (which is what I'm sure the writer intended). But the way the sentence is written is incorrect.

(01-06-2015 04:15 PM)gsloth Wrote:  It's the word "competitions." When writing that sentence, the antecedent winds up being Rice Athletic Competitions, not the assumed reference to Rice (which is what I'm sure the writer intended). But the way the sentence is written is incorrect.

Being an engineering major, I didn't exactly take a lot of English courses. And maybe that is why I don't exactly get how that structure is incorrect.

Wouldn't writing "Due to Rice's small size, Rice Athletic competitions are not well attended" be correct? Why does substituting the pronoun for "Rice's" make the structure incorrect?

"P(Rice)<X -> A(Rice)<Y"

For the record, I disagree.

The quote was from a student survey conducted by the Niche researchers. Though the syntax gave me pause, I copied the student's comment without changes as I was more interested in their sentiment than grammar in this case. I assume it was likely from a non-academ major. I remember we had Rupp implement the "coherent minor" strategy to address this very issue. Apparently that is no longer the case, or it is not effective.

Often I see similar grammatical errors on this very forum by several posters, sometimes from those I believe are lawyers. I then remember that in typing my thoughts/reactions on a message board, I am usually more interested in the germ of what is trying to be conveyed than ultimate English syntax and grammar. Nevertheless, I often go back and reedit for grammar what I sometimes quickly type in response to a thread post.

But, should anyone care to comment on the seemingly clear sentiment in most of the comments on that site survey that most Rice students care much more about and actively participate in Intra-Mural sports on campus than the varsity Div I contests, I'm all ears. I see clear opportunities for the Athl. Dept. to engage those students, leveraging their sports interest to bridge the gap and change the culture of Rice students in a relatively short period of time with minimal investment, with potential big payoffs down the road. Rice studnets become Rice grads, after all, and often can become more successful than regular state school grads.

(01-06-2015 04:46 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  I assume it was likely from a non-academ major.

Why would you assume that? For decades, S-E freshmen have entered Rice with consistently higher SAT Verbal scores than academ freshmen. Even if academ majors graduate as better writers than their S-E counterparts (which may or may not be the case), I wouldn't presume that they come in that way.

(01-06-2015 03:19 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Maybe the badminton player becomes a start-up wunderkind who ten years later is in position to donate millions.

Or, like Rice EE PhD & badminton ace Arun Netravali (#4 in this list), a top tech innovator, lab director, winner of the National Medal of Science and venture capitalist.

(01-06-2015 04:46 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  But, should anyone care to comment on the seemingly clear sentiment in most of the comments on that site survey that most Rice students care much more about and actively participate in Intra-Mural sports on campus than the varsity Div I contests, I'm all ears. I see clear opportunities for the Athl. Dept. to engage those students, leveraging their sports interest to bridge the gap and change the culture of Rice students in a relatively short period of time with minimal investment, with potential big payoffs down the road. Rice students become Rice grads, after all, and often can become more successful than regular state school grads.

This was a big point with CDC and he was launching major initiatives in this area. They died under Ranger Rick. I hope Dr. K revives them.

(01-06-2015 03:48 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(01-06-2015 03:19 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  "College Freshman Oct 7 2014

Athletics: Simply due to its small size, Rice Athletic competitions are not too attended. There is always people in the student section at football games but there are simply not enough students or fans around the city; therefore, the stadium always looks miserably empty. Intramural sports are very fun and very easy to partake in. Representing your residential college in IM sports is always really fun. The ones that are actually taken seriously are Powderpuff and Freshman Flag Football (for some colleges)"

Egad! Did a student at a selective university really write this?

My initial reaction as well. Though embarrassing, remember that we have many international students now, for whom English is a second language. This would be my presumption...

(01-06-2015 03:19 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  In reading the various comments from Rice students from this ranking on the Niche site the thing that really jumped out at me was the obvious marketing opportunity. Something which would be simple and inexpensive to implement, but might very well go a long way towards changing the student culture at Rice towards athletics. I pulled these two comments which were more or less representative of most:

"College Junior Nov 14 2014

Athletics: Rice students have been generally apathetic towards varsity athletics in the past; however, in recent years, there has been a push to attend games and show more support. I am not a student athlete, but some of my friends have mentioned that the facilities are lacking. IMs are a huge part of sports at Rice and almost everyone participates in powderpuff."

and:

"College Freshman Oct 7 2014

Athletics: Simply due to its small size, Rice Athletic competitions are not too attended. There is always people in the student section at football games but there are simply not enough students or fans around the city; therefore, the stadium always looks miserably empty. Intramural sports are very fun and very easy to partake in. Representing your residential college in IM sports is always really fun. The ones that are actually taken seriously are Powderpuff and Freshman Flag Football (for some colleges)"

The comments seem to indicate more Rice students like sports than come out to watch the Div I games, so it might do well to seek to tie those more closely together to reduce the apathy factor.

If I'm in the Rice athletics marketing department, I look into possibility of doing a couple of things with this information:

1. Seek to have representation/athletics team branding (football and basketball especially)/ advertising/banners/small giveaways at as many intramural contests as possible. Make sure I have someone assigned to be at as many intramural contests as possible throughout the year to interact and be a contact person/liaison to the general student body. Present small trophies for intramural winners with prizes of swag available if they present a voucher at a game, etc.. Have some coaches and/or players be involved in some trophy presentations for IM winners.

2. Have as many intramural tie-ins as possible before/during (halftime, intermission)/after Rice football and basketball games. Maybe a "mini"-powder-puff or freshman flag football exhibition contest for five minutes at halftime in the stadium for the top teams, or a mini basketball exhibition (maybe a mini badminton contest between two really good IM players) at halftime of some home men's and women's basketball games. Other IM contests could try to have some of their playoff or championship contests before or after some games. You could do the same for tennis and swimming contests, etc... Give a prize for those who bring the most friends to come watch them- have a way of tabulating and attributing their attendance- with all their iphones and such, should be simple to do with a computer as they walk in. This extends your marketing team to an student "street team" the way rock promoters do, and it's virtually free of cost.

Note: If you say "it's not worth the time and effort to try to engage so few students through paying more attention to Rice intra-murals" remember to look at it as a long-term investment in the future of Rice athletics as far as donors: Some of those kids who participate might graduate to become multimillionaires afterwards. Maybe the badminton player becomes a start-up wunderkind who ten years later is in position to donate millions. Certainly worth hiring just one low-0salaried full-time employee in the Athletic dept to solely concentrate on Intra-Mural liaison duties. You only need one future million-dollar or multi-million dollar donor to Rice athletics you would not have had before to make the return pay off your upfront investment.

We're looking for more Rice T.Boone Pickens', right? Well, they are there on campus right now, and many may not be coming out to watch the football or basketball team, but those future Rice T. Boone Pickens' may well be really good and competitive at badminton or flag football, etc... Invest in connecting to them now and they may remember Rice Athletics the same way Patterson did years later for the EZF donation.

Someday, my longstanding recommendation that Powerderpuff games be played during half-time and after varsity football games will be tested. Guaranteed 200 students for each college that participates.

I could not find a ranking of richest USA universities on an endowment per student basis. Circa my Rice days, us Owls were some of the most endowed…
Seriously, I think that Rice is still in the top 8 , on endowment dollars per student.

(01-06-2015 04:46 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  ...I see clear opportunities for the Athl. Dept. to engage those students, leveraging their sports interest to bridge the gap and change the culture of Rice students in a relatively short period of time with minimal investment, with potential big payoffs down the road. Rice studnets become Rice grads, after all, and often can become more successful than regular state school grads.

Didn't the football program conduct a sort of workshop to introduce Rice's international students to football a few years ago? Does anybody know if that kind of outreach and engagement grows a fan base significantly?

(01-06-2015 11:41 PM)Viejobuho Wrote:  I could not find a ranking of richest USA universities on an endowment per student basis. Circa my Rice days, us Owls were some of the most endowed…
Seriously, I think that Rice is still in the top 8 , on endowment dollars per student.

In September, the New York Times published a list of colleges with the highest endowment per student values. Rice was 11th.

Here are the Top 16:


In 2005, Rice was 8th. (See Table 2, p. 14)

(Wikipedia has a nice list of colleges with endowments currently greater than $1 billion, and their values going back to 2005 (even if their values were then less than $1 billion). But it does not include the endowment/student calculation. Rice is 20th in total endowment.)

(01-06-2015 11:41 PM)Viejobuho Wrote:  I could not find a ranking of richest USA universities on an endowment per student basis. Circa my Rice days, us Owls were some of the most endowed…

I see what you did there

(01-07-2015 03:10 AM)Almadenmike Wrote:  

(01-06-2015 11:41 PM)Viejobuho Wrote:  I could not find a ranking of richest USA universities on an endowment per student basis. Circa my Rice days, us Owls were some of the most endowed…
Seriously, I think that Rice is still in the top 8 , on endowment dollars per student.

In September, the New York Times published a list of colleges with the highest endowment per student values. Rice was 11th.

Here are the Top 16:

Code:

College   Endowment per student

Princeton     $2,280,000
Yale          $1,990,000
Harvard       $1,520,000
Stanford      $1,200,000
Pomona        $1,170,000
M.I.T.        $1,000,000
Swarthmore      $970,000
Amherst         $940,000
Grinnell        $880,000
Williams        $840,000
Rice            $810,000
Caltech         $770,000
Dartmouth       $660,000
Wellesley       $640,000
Washington&Lee  $600,000
Notre Dame      $570,000

Thks for the info.
I consider some of those ahead of Rice as colleges, so Rice may be considered as among the top 6 universities. I think we have declined since my Rice days, but not beyond merit.

(01-07-2015 01:43 AM)Caelligh Wrote:  

(01-06-2015 04:46 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  ...I see clear opportunities for the Athl. Dept. to engage those students, leveraging their sports interest to bridge the gap and change the culture of Rice students in a relatively short period of time with minimal investment, with potential big payoffs down the road. Rice studnets become Rice grads, after all, and often can become more successful than regular state school grads.

Didn't the football program conduct a sort of workshop to introduce Rice's international students to football a few years ago? Does anybody know if that kind of outreach and engagement grows a fan base significantly?

I believe this has become an annual event. Not sure on the impact on growing the fan base, but the participants and the players and coaches seem to have fun doing it.

(01-07-2015 11:51 AM)Viejobuho Wrote:  

(01-07-2015 03:10 AM)Almadenmike Wrote:  

(01-06-2015 11:41 PM)Viejobuho Wrote:  I could not find a ranking of richest USA universities on an endowment per student basis. Circa my Rice days, us Owls were some of the most endowed…
Seriously, I think that Rice is still in the top 8 , on endowment dollars per student.

In September, the New York Times published a list of colleges with the highest endowment per student values. Rice was 11th.

Here are the Top 16:

Code:

College   Endowment per student

Princeton     $2,280,000
Yale          $1,990,000
Harvard       $1,520,000
Stanford      $1,200,000
Pomona        $1,170,000
M.I.T.        $1,000,000
Swarthmore      $970,000
Amherst         $940,000
Grinnell        $880,000
Williams        $840,000
Rice            $810,000
Caltech         $770,000
Dartmouth       $660,000
Wellesley       $640,000
Washington&Lee  $600,000
Notre Dame      $570,000

Thks for the info.
I consider some of those ahead of Rice as colleges, so Rice may be considered as among the top 6 universities. I think we have declined since my Rice days, but not beyond merit.

IIRC, Rice was top 10 in total endowment in the 1980s and second only to Harvard in endowment/student. But, perception of endowment might be embellished by age.