Rice and Lamar University have agreed to cancel their season-opening football game scheduled for Sept. 26 at Rice Stadium, and Conference USA has postponed the volleyball and soccer seasons to the spring. Both developments are in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Owls are now scheduled to kick off their football season Oct. 3 at Marshall University, with the home opener scheduled for Oct. 10 against the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The Lamar game is Rice's second nonconference football contest from the original 2020 schedule to be canceled. A Sept. 19 meeting with Louisiana State University at Houston's NRG Stadium was called off when the Southeastern Conference moved to a league-only schedule.
Two games — at the University of Houston and against Army at Rice Stadium — were postponed previously. The schools continue to explore options to allow them to be played.
The Rice volleyball and soccer teams will play in the spring after the Conference USA Board of Directors voted to postpone all fall team sports and championships except football following the NCAA Division I Board of Directors' decision to move fall NCAA championships to spring. Schedule adjustments and ticket information will be announced at a later date.
For the latest updates on Rice athletics, visit RiceOwls.com.