(03-30-2013 04:16 PM)Memphis Owl Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 02:09 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 11:32 AM)Barrett Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 11:18 AM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 11:05 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  Women's golf would be the likely first new sport.

Is a sport whose contests are never seen by any fan whatsoever really the best way to expand our athletic program? I realize that no new sport will MAKE money, and so perhaps the biggest calculus is simply which will lose the least. But surely the notion that there is positive value in students, faculty, alumni and other fans actually seeing Rice athletes compete would be at least a marginal factor. Otherwise, why add any teams at all? (After all, if the goal is simply to miminize losses, surely reducing sports is more effective path than adding them.)

Is there much in the way of women's lacrosse or field hockey in this part of the country? My high school alma mater, St. John's, which is in Houston, certainly participates in these sports and, indeed, pretty regularly sends young women to colleges (sometimes on scholarships) for these sports (the popular destinations seem to be Princeton and Stanford). So I think these sports are reasonably popular in Texas at the high school level; I just have no idea about the college level.

Aside from his erroneous statement that there isn't "any fan whatesoever" who watches colleagiate golf, (I do! I enjoyed seeing the Owls compete at SF's Olympic Club a few years back, and a friend on the Duke team down at CordeValle; both PGA/USGA championship courses)) I suspect that George is setting the stage for making the case that Rice should add a women's sport that would attract many new fans and, hopefully, paying customers.

Knowing his strong research and analytical bent, I wouldn't be surprised if his proposal would be that Rice join our academic near-peer, soon-to-be-former Conference USA and would-be Magnolia conference mate, Tulane, Cinderella school da jour, Florida Gulf Coast, continuing C-USA competitor, UAB, and 31 other colleges (including Stanford, Cal & UCLA) in fielding a women's team that even our AD could get behind ... sand (aka, beach) volleyball.

This is an "emerging" NCAA sport, which will get championship status when more than 40 schools field a team. Apparently in D-1, the NCAA allows six scholarships over four years, and rules benefit schools that keep sand and indoor volleyball separate.

Got sand?

Beach Volleyball would be a great addition. One could renovate Jake Hess for it. With expected growth, crowds would demand renovation of HRS for Beach Volleyball.

The palm trees are already over in that neck of the campus. Maybe that was the long-range plan with the palm trees all along.