Oct. 24, 2024
POSTED IN: RICE NEWS > Current News > 2024

Rice football team ‘bridging the gap between campus and football’

Inaugural Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day offered inside look at program

Faculty and staff members at Rice University gathered for a unique learning experience outside of the classroom at the Rice football team’s inaugural “Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day” event Oct. 22.
Faculty and staff members at Rice University gathered for a unique learning experience outside of the classroom at the Rice football team’s inaugural “Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day” event Oct. 22.
Photos by Gustavo Raskosky

Faculty and staff members at Rice University gathered for a unique learning experience outside of the classroom at the Rice football team’s inaugural Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day event Oct. 22.

Attendees got a firsthand look at what it’s like to be a football player at Rice, connecting with members of the recruiting staff who showed them the high standard of hard work required to become and stay an Owl.

Faculty and staff members at Rice University gathered for a unique learning experience outside of the classroom at the Rice football team’s inaugural “Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day” event Oct. 22.
Morrey shows faculty and staff the Sports Medicine Center.

“We wanted to bridge the gap between campus and football here at Rice,” said Jessica Morrey, director of on-campus recruiting. “Academics and athletics are both very important here, so I think it’s really cool to get a chance to see what these guys go through in a day and see what kind of guys we are looking to recruit to our campus.

Attendees first met in the team room at the Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center for a presentation from the team’s recruiting staff, which is the same presentation the staff shows to its recruits when they visit Rice. This included messages from current and former Rice players, hype videos shown to players before games, statistics of former Owls that are now professional athletes and more.

The presentation gave an in-depth snapshot of the workload players handle on a weekly basis, including a schedule of what a game week looks like.

Faculty and staff members at Rice University gathered for a unique learning experience outside of the classroom at the Rice football team’s inaugural “Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day” event Oct. 22.
Eric George, assistant vice president & deputy athletic director speak to the attendees before the recruiting staff's presentation.

“Our players value academics, so I think it’s great for their professors and their faculty that they know to come support them and see how hard they work on the field as well as off the field,” Morrey said. “We talk a lot about ‘on the field’ and ‘in the classroom,’ and it’s nice to be able to merge those two things. I think it helps bring out more support for the program throughout the entire campus as well.”

Attendees toured the facility before attending practice. Kevin Li, an accounting assistant in the Jones Graduate School of Business, is somewhat new to the game of American football and says he enjoyed learning more about what goes into Rice’s program.

“I wanted to have a better understanding of what football life is like,” Li said. “I see a lot of Rice student-athletes on campus and in the hallways, and I just think it’s great to connect with them.”