Describe The Rice Grads You Know

[Harry]

Seems like the guys that got into Rice when I was in high school were the computer programming geniuses who were on the debate team and scored a 1490 on the SAT. Growin up in Houston I always have had a deep respect for Rice. I remember how good Tommy Kramer was and my dad always talked about that Rice player who came off the sidelines to make that infamous tackle preventing a touchdown. I remember going to Rice games and enjoying the MOB make fun of UT and a&m. It's a beautiful campus with trees shading the surrounding roads, right next to the medical center. Other than this weekend I will always pull for Rice to do well.

[GrayEagle]

Seems like the guys that got into Rice when I was in high school were the computer programming geniuses who were on the debate team and scored a 1490 on the SAT. Growin up in Houston I always have had a deep respect for Rice. I remember how good Tommy Kramer was and my dad always talked about that Rice player who came off the sidelines to make that infamous tackle preventing a touchdown. I remember going to Rice games and enjoying the MOB make fun of UT and a&m. It's a beautiful campus with trees shading the surrounding roads, right next to the medical center. Other than this weekend I will always pull for Rice to do well.

Uhh...it was Tommy Lewis from ALABAMA who came off of the bench to tackle Dickie Moegle of Rice.

Believe it or not, the Rice graduate that I know best is in the insurance business. I guess not all of you are dummies. (Just kiddin')

[eulessismore]

The only Rice Grad I even know OF without looking on the Internet is Larry McMurtry, who we all know is also a Grad of UNT, and was quoted recently describing Denton as "always fairly interesting" (I think this was in part a tribute to meeting his first wife there). One warm spot I have for him is that he responded to a letter my sister sent to him after "Lonesome Dove" the miniseries, informing him that he wrote something wrong concerning one of the characters. According to her, he "tried" to explain himself, but knowing my sister, I'm sure he failed to convince her. Interesting that the Wikipedia bio on McMurtry mentioned Ken Kesey's group of "Merry Pranksters" from the "Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" dropping in on Kesey's old buddy (from the Stanford creative writing workshop) McMurtry when he was living in Houston while a teaching assistant at Rice. I'll always like McMurtry because he grew up just the next county over from me, and got away with writing some of the things that he did about that area. Some of it wasn't too kind, but I guess they can say "hey, he was thinking about us".

Wikipedia bio of Larry McMurtry

Edited September 9, 2010 by eulessismore

[Green Mean]

Rice is one of the toughest schools to get into period. Everybody that I know who are Rice alums are very bright but very nice people. They are truly the hardest school to get into in the state (atleast from a few years ago). SMU is a very good institution but even they don't sniff the academic level and toughness Rice is. If I remember...a few years one of the big college rankings publications did a top university list and I think Rice was 6th or 7th in the whole country. And that included, private, public, ivy's you name it.

[PlummMeanGreen]

My late sainted oldest sister (Nina) was good friends with Susan Garrett Baker, whose husband is James H. Baker, III, former Secretary of State during the Reagan years. Baker is a Rice U alum.

James H. Baker's (III) great grandfather was one of Rice University's founding fathers as I recall a part of their history. (Somewhere in my photo collection I have an old black & white Fox photo of my Sis' and Susan).

NOTE: Some of you Rice U & Owl fans who may be reading this thread may want to know that "Harry" who is the pioneer/founder of www.GoMeanGree.com is the nephew of Ms. Harriet Miers of whom this nation should have insisted that all their electorates back home put that fine lady in the Supreme Court. It was America's loss. (OK, no more politics from here on, Harry).

Rice U had many grads who were chemists at Dow Chemical Company (Freeport) where my dad worked for almost 40 years. I knew one of them from back then at Dow family picnics near Lake Jackson, Texas.

A Short Dow Chemical Co. Story: During the Viet Nam war, I never knew that where my dad worked was making napalm (sp?). I asked him about that years later and he said that they were all sworn to secrecy as to what took place at Dow as would be the case at any plant that had goverment contracts. I was duly impressed how successful they kept their secret about napalm for sure.

Addendum: I also knew a girl from Argyle, Texas, who graduated from Rice U.

and...ex Rice Owl QB King Hill was from my home county of Brazoria County--he played at Brazosport HS (Freeport) and was a pretty successful QB with Jess Neely's Owls.

GMG!

Edited September 9, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

[SteaminWillieBeamin]

I know two people from Rice and they married each other. They both went on to be doctors and are very good people. I consider them two of my go-to friends for anything.

It is a great academic institute, but boring otherwise. My high school had more students than Rice. They all live on campus and are inbred with their relationships (not literally. Everyone has dated everyone else.) They tend to be the upper crust of the economic scale and have never worked and don't branch out very much from their circle. It just seems like an extension of a prep school, not my cup of tea.

Definitely no disrespect. I am glad Rice is in Texas.

Edited September 9, 2010 by SteaminWillieBeamin

[AndersonUNT]

I graduated High School in 2006 and there was a girl in my graduating class that had a PERFECT score on her SAT, she had scholarship offers from all over the country...She chose RICE, that says something I think...

[All About UNT]

and while I am sure Rice gets nothing but upper-echelon students....the question was "describe the ones you know". With that said...the only one I know was the now ex-boyfriend of a good friend and he fell off the face of the planet with a drug problem (serious) at the age of 29-30. Great guy...smart guy...just got involved with the wrong crowd.

Edited September 9, 2010 by All About UNT

[greenminer]

Baller.

[ColoradoEagle]

Don't know any Rice grads. I was accepted, but couldn't make the financials work. I'm confident others would describe me as someone they want to punch in the face.

Edited September 9, 2010 by ColoradoEagle

[NT03]

Is the the loveboat forum or are you guys going to talk some football ???

Edited September 9, 2010 by NT03

[EagleMBA]

OK, we'll talk some football. I worked as a bank examiner for the OCC with an ex-Rice football player for a few years in my first job after college. A fine, very capable fellow named Wallace E. Hinyard from San Saba. Other than my signature this week, you will never hear me disrespect Rice. Can't recall ever meeting a Rice grad I couldn't get along with.

[LongJim]

My uncle went to Rice for 2 years, but finished his degree at TCU. He is basically a retired aerospace engineer. Some may not know that up until the early 60's, Rice was tuition-free to citizens of the state of Texas. My uncle is brilliant. One of the smartest guys I've ever been around.

When I was attending UT, I always enjoyed meeting students from Rice, because they all had a sense of humor about the ballgames, and weren't afraid to talk a little smack. One year they came to Austin and got pasted, and during the fourth quarter, the Rice fans began chanting "That's alright, that's ok...you're gonna work for us, one day..."

Have another story about Rice students mischief while I was there, but won't bore anyone with it. Suffice to say I've always enjoyed talking to people who went to Rice. They seem like good folks.

[GreenMachine]

I have a co-worker that graduated from Rice. Decent guy, fairly smart, certainly wouldn't label him as very smart but no dummy either. His only problem is he doesn't know when to put down the fork, is going to die of complications from obesity before he hits 40.

[island eagle]

My wife is a Rice grad. I have to say she is very smart, but she is definitely not a snob. In fact, she is a very popular local artist and volunteers for many charitable organizations. I don't think you can characterize Rice grads any more accurately than North Texas grads. The ones I've met through her have pretty much covered the same range as the Mean Green grads I know. By the way, she never minds me cheering for North Texas against Rice in either football or basketball. She even wears green and cheers for our team as well.....because she knows I care a lot more than she does about the final score of the game.

By the way, she never advertises being a Rice grad. Sometimes people find out, but she does not make it out as a big thing. She got a degree, had a good career and now is semi-retired.

[flyonthewall]

My father is a rice graduate and played on the football team that won the 1957 southwest conference championship. Normally he is a pretty nice guy but this week he a a crotchity old SOB who has no idea what he is talking about. Since my mother, my wife, my brother in law and I are all North Texas Grads, a win this week would be really nice.

We went to the game in Houston as a family and that went real well for me................ So, I am really looking forward to this week. Kevin Hodges from Sanger (now lives in Argyle) who is a EVP for Access First Capital Bank in Denton is a Rice grad. His daughter Kelsey is a budding freshman star on our soccer team.

Man we need a win.

[eulesseagle]

Jody Medord. When I lived in Houston he and I attended the same Sunday School class and began to hang out a little bit. That is when he told me he played for Rice in the early-mid seventies, drafted by Houston then played in the Canadian Football League where he came in second to the Smirnoff Trophy (the best football player in the CFL). Had tons of funny football stories but his best stories were the ones where he led other team mates and other opponents to Christ. He ran some sort of missionary outreach program in Houston and every now and then some ex footballer would drop by his apartment for a talk. Medford was one of the finest people I have known....intellegent, humble and funny.

[houstonmeangreen]

Rice is one of the toughest schools to get into period. Everybody that I know who are Rice alums are very bright but very nice people. They are truly the hardest school to get into in the state (atleast from a few years ago). SMU is a very good institution but even they don't sniff the academic level and toughness Rice is. If I remember...a few years one of the big college rankings publications did a top university list and I think Rice was 6th or 7th in the whole country. And that included, private, public, ivy's you name it.

level and toughness Rice is.

we can tell Rice wasn't your school.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

One of my neighbors played baseball at Rice back in the day. He's a good guy. His wife went to Oklahoma State.

It's all good. But, I don't really care. We will beat them, and pound them, and grind them into submission before a drooling crowd of around 24k.

When you can't eat pizza, then next best thing is just to drive over to Taco Bueno for a muchaco.

[Green Mean]

level and toughness Rice is.

we can tell Rice wasn't your school.

Hah it was late and I don't proofread. But yes that's a grammatical error.

[Army of Dad]

The only Rice grad I can think is my boyhood favorite QB Tommy Kramer!

[greenjoe]

The only Rice grad I know is the doctor that did my and my son's lasic surgery-Dr. William Boothe. He's clearly brilliant, but he's not the life of the party. Not that you want a Jerry Seinfeld type crawling around in your eye.

And a s yiou cann tlee I caan sre fyne.

What have you done to make North Texas a better program

Buy Season Tickets

Join the Mean Green Club

Contribute to the new stadium fund

GO MEAN GREEN

[houstonmeangreen]

Hah it was late and I don't proofread. But yes that's a grammatical error.

Just having a little fun !

[GrandGreen]

What a weird subject. I know a number of people from Rice and they are not aliens and with a few exceptions, unusual.

[untjim1995]

The folks that I know that went to Rice are amazingly smart, but I will never forget what my wife's uncle, a Rice alum who is an engineer for KBR, once said about the place: Its where all of the HS nerds collectively gathered to break away from the rest of society!!

Edited September 9, 2010 by untjim1995