in varsity sports. Oberlin set institutional records in the North Coast Athletic Conference All-Sports Trophy in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. During his tenure, 12 of 22 varsity programs achieved their highest conference placement in NCAC history. Eleven Oberlin athletes were named conference players of the year and more than 400 were named to all-conference teams. “Joe brings just a great combination of experiences,” Leebron said. “He was a student–athlete, a coach, an athletics director and a senior associate athletic director at Stanford, a school which has a lot in common with Rice in terms of high aspirations both for academics and athletics and a true commitment to student–athletes and their ultimate success in the world.” Karlgaard said he would be spending his first 90 days “listening to people, getting out and meeting people, finding out what has made this place tick for more than 100 years.” Rice trustee J.D. Bucky Allshouse ’71 called this decision a “crucial hire,” noting that the position has been under a great deal of scrutiny, and many Rice supporters were weighing in on the type of person Rice should hire. Of Karlgaard, Allshouse said, “He’s young, energetic, passionate and knowledgeable. When you put all those things together, you’ve got a winner.” “Rice Athletics is filled with potential, only some of which has been realized,” Karlgaard said. “My goal is to fully tap the energies, passion and resources of the Rice community to build a program of broad national prominence.” A Stanford graduate with a B.A. in history, Karlgaard was a four-year letter winner as part of Stanford’s NCAA champion track and field program. He received a Ph.D. and master’s degree in educational policy and administration from the University of Minnesota, where he also served as assistant coach for the men’s track and field and cross-country teams from 2000 to 2003. In his final year as a coach at Minnesota, the Golden Gophers won the Big Ten outdoor championship with the highest team score in conference history. Karlgaard and his wife, Jill, have one son, Charlie. Photos: Rice University Athletics
Calling All Spectators There’s plenty of competition and athleticism on view this fall for Rice Owls fans — tennis, soccer, volleyball, cross-country and football are in conference play. Find a schedule here: www.riceowls.com/ calendar/events.
At press time, Rice’s football team, led by head coach David Bailiff, was 3–0 in conference play, with a dramatic come-from-behind win over Florida Atlantic (18–14) and a thrilling overtime win against the University of Tulsa (30–27). Soccer head coach Nicky Adams is coming off a C-USA 2012 regular season conference co-championship. With many team members returning, the team was ranked No. 2 in the C-USA preseason by the league’s coaches, behind Colorado College. Men’s cross-country is off to a strong start, having won the Rice Invitational Meet as well as a dual meet against Houston Baptist University Sept. 13 and placing second in the Rim Rock Classic Oct. 5. The women’s cross-country team placed second in both of its first two meets.
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