
"But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?" –John F. Kennedy
As the start of the school year approaches, Rice football will continue its tradition of playing Texas with the game scheduled to take place at NRG stadium on September 14th. President John F. Kennedy would have you believe that we choose to do this because it is hard. As a recent graduate from Rice, I now know it's because we think we are so smart that we truly believe our gameplan is going to work this year...
For the first time in my life I live in the city of my alma mater and can't wait to attend games and be a part of the glorious tradition. I unfortunately was severely lacking in basic information from where to park to how much games cost. When reaching out to the athletic department I learned an interesting fact, Rice doesn't just play Football... In fact they have 14 Division 1 sports. Yes Fourteen! And another fun fact, watching most of the games is easy.
The PR team from Rice Athletics sent me over the following data which I am honored to pass on to you the Sportsmap reader. The Rice Campus is beautiful, the games are competitive (and cheap), and they have a great family friendly atmosphere. Armed with the information below I hope I can quickly catch you up on what is going on in the heart of Houston and who knows, maybe I can even convince a few readers to join in on the action. I do know one thing for sure though, I'm going to force you scroll down to see what the 14 sports are.
SOCCER
- 2019 Season Home Opening game: August 25th at home vs. Houston
- Stadium & Avg ticket price: Holloway Field, season tickets starting as low as $30 and individual as low as $8 https://riceowls.com/sports/2018/7/17/tickets-w-soccer-tickets-html.aspx?id=13
- Summary: After finishing 7-9-1 in 2018, the Rice soccer program is under the direction of new head coach Brian Lee – a finalist for National Coach of the Year last season while leading LSU to the SEC Championship. The Owls return seven starters to the lineup in 2019, including C-USA Midfielder of the Year Lianne Mananquil.
- Key events of 2019: August 25 vs crosstown rival Houston; Nov. 1 vs. North Texas (both matches played at home).
VOLLEYBALL
- 2019 Season Opening match: Aug 30th @ Ole Miss (Tournament)
- Stadium & Avg ticket price: Tudor Fieldhouse, individual tickets as low as $8. https://riceowls.com/sports/2018/7/17/tickets-w-volley-tickets-html.aspx?id=14
- Summary: The Owls are coming off a 24-7 season last year in which they advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a sweep of the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles. Rice returns junior outside hitter Nicole Lennon, the reigning C-USA Player of the Year, as well as all-conference recipients Grace Morgan, Lee Ann Cunningham, Anota Adekunle and Carly Graham. In addition to posting their fifth straight 20-win season with a 24-7 record, the Owls earned their best C-USA record (12-2) while notching the longest winning streak (15 straight) in program history.
FOOTBALL
MEN'S BASKETBALL
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
WOMEN'S TENNIS
MEN'S TENNIS
- 2020 Dual opener: January 25 vs. Incarnate Word
- Stadium & Avg. ticket price: George R. Brown Tennis Center Admission is free
- Summary: Rice welcomes back its entire starting lineup, led by 2019 Conference USA Player of the Year Sumit Sarkar. The fall tournament season features the annual Rice Invitational (October 18-20).
- Key events of 2020: A combined dual with the Rice women vs. LSU (#48 in 2019) on February 23; dual vs. TCU (#10) n March 13 and the Rice Invitational March 27-29.
- Note: The George R. Brown Tennis Center will also host a pair of professional tournaments in the fall of 2019. The Texas Tamale Company Houston Cup, an ITF Pro Circuit event, will be played from September 16-22 while the Oracle Challenger Series will be held November 10-17. In addition, the Invesco Series legends tour is projected to return to the Tudor Fieldhouse in November.
CROSS COUNTRY (MEN'S AND WOMEN'S)
GOLF
SWIMMING
BASEBALL
TRACK & FIELD (MEN'S AND WOMEN'S)
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How Astros just put league on notice with dominant pitching, clutch hitting
Jun 26, 2025, 7:08 pm
Cam Smith hit an RBI single in the eighth inning to give the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
CAM SMITH COMES THROUGH! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/Y6dtPpXF9J
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
The rookie's second hit of the game came off Orion Kerkering (5-3) and gave the Astros their fourth straight win.
Brandon Marsh tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the top of the inning to end the Phillies' 26-inning scoreless streak.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead on Yainer Diaz’s RBI single in the second inning. They only managed three more hits off Phillies starter Christopher Sanchez, who struck out 11 with zero walks over six innings. Sanchez has not issued a walk in three straight starts.
Hunter Brown lowered his league best ERA to 1.74 by scattering three singles over seven shutout innings, with nine strikeouts. He did not allow a runner to reach second base.
FULL THROTTLE.
Hunter Brown now leads the MLB in lowest ERA (1.74). #BuiltForFuel pic.twitter.com/nkwT2MpgJQ
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
Bryan Abreu (3-3) struck out Trea Turner to end the eighth, and then struck out Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Nick Castellanos in the ninth.
Abreu joined Julia Morales after the game and talked about his impressive performance!
🧹🧹🧹
After the @Astros completed their sweep of the Phillies, @JuliaMorales visited with Bryan Abreu!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/UeOOSNDKwW
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) June 26, 2025
Rafael Marchán had two of the Phillies' four hits. Bryson Stott reached base twice and scored the Phillies' lone run.
Key moment
Smith’s RBI.
Key stat
Brown’s 1.74 ERA is the fourth best in Astros history through 16 starts and the best since Justin Verlander posted a 1.60 ERA through 16 starts in 2018.
Up next
The Astros open a three-game series against the Cubs on Friday with LHP Brandon Walter (0-1 3.80 ERA) on the mound.
The Phillies open a three-game series at the Braves on Friday with RHP Mick Abel (2-1 3.47 ERA) against Atlanta RHP Bryce Elder (2-4 4.77).