I don't like all this bad mouthing of Rice. After all, they play the Aggie BQ song at every home game.

Folks sure do have lots of opinions.

I didn't read everyone's reply but this is very simply because Vandy is in the SEC - that means a share of the SEC monies and the pier pressure and exposure (even when they sucked) that comes with it.

When Rice got left behind in the breakup of the SWC, there simply wasn't a path for them to keep up. Teams like TCU and Houston scrapped along and had enough donors and luck to stay on the cusp long enough to get into the Big12 as it now sits - giving them at least a viable chance in todays CFB world. Rice was not able to do that.

If they have anything like the Northpark Mall in Dallas nearby, then you will definitely die. I would not go.

YouBet said:

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If they have anything like the Northpark Mall in Dallas nearby, then you will definitely die. I would not go.

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there is a tecovas boot store and blackwalnut cafe within spitting distance. pretty much compton.

BMX Bandit said:

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YouBet said:

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If they have anything like the Northpark Mall in Dallas nearby, then you will definitely die. I would not go.

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there is a tecovas boot store and blackwalnut cafe within spitting distance. pretty much compton.

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Tecovas sounds Mexican and there is a black walnut b&b in Oregon.

These are clearly hubs for Mexican gangs and antifa. Y'all can FAFO but I'm not going.

I've lived in Houston over 20 years. I can't recall ever meeting a Rice undergraduate alumni that cared about sports, much less football.

Rice Stadium was at one time over 70k capacity and now it's down to 46k?

I wonder what the economics look like for spending millions to downsize the stadium. Invest to reduce capacity seems like a weird model - maybe more luxury boxes but who's going to buy them?

halfastros81 said:

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Rice Stadium was at one time over 70k capacity and now it's down to 46k?

I wonder what the economics look like for spending millions to downsize the stadium. Invest to reduce capacity seems like a weird model - maybe more luxury boxes but who's going to buy them?

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If I recall correctly, parts of at least one upper deck have been condemned. They either have to fix them or tear them down.

i worked in the Rice athletic department my first year out of A&M. The elevator to the press level at Rice Stadium was a manual elevator that you stopped and started with a hand lever. Someone from the athletic office (me, often) had to stay in the elevator all day long because the thing was so difficult to stop when it was lined up with the floor.

Other than baseball they never cared about athletic there. Several times during my employee, I'd go up there at night with friends and play basketball for hours at Autry Court with all the lights on and nobody ever said a word about it.

Buck Turgidson said:

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cevans_40 said:

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Rice is in an awful part of Houston and Nashville is simply a better city overall. Academically, the same types of students attend both schools but Vandy has done a much better job of appealing to the natives versus the International draw for Rice.

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Rice is between the Houston Medical Center and West U. WTF are you talking about? I'll bet you think SMU is in a rough hood too.

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No. Dallas actually has some respectable neighborhoods.

For a brief period they were good in baseball. Other than that, no one at Rice has cared about sports at all, at least during our lifetimes.

Rice's trajectory could've been different in an alternate world where the SWC was kept together. Duke, Stanford, and Vanderbilt were lucky enough to still be in the original conferences. Swap Rice with any of them, and they would've suffered the same fate.

Rice has had bad luck since the SWC, and now even baseball has taken a hit due to NIL. Stanford was close to being left behind since they're not exactly juggernauts in the major sports. But they at least have Olympic sports they're great at.

Rice alumni do not care about sports. They have one of the largest endowments in the country. They only thing they pee over is baseball. Everything else is just PE for smart athletes.

King of the Dairy Queen said:

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cevans_40 said:

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Buck Turgidson said:

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cevans_40 said:

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Rice is in an awful part of Houston and Nashville is simply a better city overall. Academically, the same types of students attend both schools but Vandy has done a much better job of appealing to the natives versus the International draw for Rice.

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Rice is between the Houston Medical Center and West U. WTF are you talking about? I'll bet you think SMU is in a rough hood too.

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No. Dallas actually has some respectable neighborhoods.

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I'd put stock into this of you hadn't pivoted from what your definition of a good neighborhood is several times

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I didn't pivot from anything. There is not a single neighborhood withing the city limits of Houston worth living in, especially not for a college student. Sorry you all couldn't make better life choices.

So pointing out that Rice area is not a bad part of town = making bad life choices. Not following the logic.

FarmerJohn said:

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I've lived in Houston over 20 years. I can't recall ever meeting a Rice undergraduate alumni that cared about sports, much less football.

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Grew up in Austin with a Longhorn dad and brother, so I just root for Texas.

I was really conflicted when Rice beat UT in '94.

halfastros81 said:

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Rice Stadium was at one time over 70k capacity and now it's down to 46k?

I wonder what the economics look like for spending millions to downsize the stadium. Invest to reduce capacity seems like a weird model - maybe more luxury boxes but who's going to buy them?

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Not totally uncommon. OU is reducing the size of their stadium right now.

cevans_40 said:

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King of the Dairy Queen said:

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cevans_40 said:

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Buck Turgidson said:

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cevans_40 said:

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Rice is in an awful part of Houston and Nashville is simply a better city overall. Academically, the same types of students attend both schools but Vandy has done a much better job of appealing to the natives versus the International draw for Rice.

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Rice is between the Houston Medical Center and West U. WTF are you talking about? I'll bet you think SMU is in a rough hood too.

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No. Dallas actually has some respectable neighborhoods.

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I'd put stock into this of you hadn't pivoted from what your definition of a good neighborhood is several times

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I didn't pivot from anything. There is not a single neighborhood withing the city limits of Houston worth living in, especially not for a college student. Sorry you all couldn't make better life choices.

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LOL. Obvious troll. River Oaks is on par with or nicer than Highland Park. West U, Memorial, Tanglewood all as nice as anything in Dallas. There are others I could list but you're obviously either trolling or one of the most profoundly ignorant posters on TexAgs. Maybe both. Have a good day, sir.

Enrollment numbers, undergrad (total) for the 4 peer private institutions in major conferences:
Duke 6.5k (16.5)
Vandy 7.2 (13.7)
Stanford 7.9 (19)
Northwestern 9 (23)

SMU has similar numbers, but is a cut below academically, TCU is primarily an undergrad school (9/11). Baylor is a larger TCU (15/20).

Rice fits more with Tulsa and Wake Forest. Those are the 3 smallest schools that have D1 football and basketball, and only Wake is in a major conference.