Rice Athletics honored the past, celebrated the present and looked ahead to the future during the 2024 Night of Flight celebration and fundraiser at the “R” Room April 25.
Rice Athletics has had plenty to celebrate since last year’s Night of Flight event, including the university’s first year of competition in the American Athletic Conference, an NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament appearance, a bowl game appearance and the announcement of a new athletic director and men’s basketball coach, in addition to countless other athletic achievements.
The Owls recognized these accomplishments and honored former Rice athletes and coaches during the event’s program, titled “A Tradition of Excellence.” Dinner was presented by Gatlin’s BBQ, and a live auction was held as people were able to bid on a variety of gifts.
“This year we wanted to celebrate the past and talk about where we are now, but I can’t wait for the future of Rice Athletics,” said Ryan Hall, senior associate athletic director for development. “We have a tradition of excellence here at Rice, and when it comes to supporting our student-athletes, we’re doing that at the absolute top level. We are an Ivy League school academically that competes at the highest level in Division I. I couldn’t be more fired up about where we’re heading as a university.”
“It has been an incredible pleasure to be at Rice since August,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Tommy McClelland said. “The incredible seasons that we’ve had in various sports, it’s just been remarkable. It’s a joy and a privilege to be around these student-athletes every day. Obviously, there are tough days and there are great days, but there’s never a day that’s not fulfilling. And we’re working really hard every day to develop a best-in-class athletics program.”
If you are interested in supporting Rice student-athletes, you can contribute to the Owl Club here.
