The Rice Thresher, Vol. 91, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, May 21, 2004 Page: 1 of 32
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e Rice Thresher
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MATT CRNKOVICH/THRESHER
Sally forth
Graduating senior Angela Fernandez walks across the stage to receive her diploma at Rice's
91st Commencement, held May 8 in the Rice Academic Quad.
McKinsey report released
Board-commissioned study of Rice athletics addresses
social, academic, economic costs of NCAA participation
by Jenny Recs
IHKKSHFK KDrrOKIAI. S I AKI"
After receiving the report commissioned
last June from the management consulting firm
McKinsey & Company,The Hoard ofTrustees
is considering the future of Rice athletics at
meetings this month. The McKinsey Report
on Intercollegiate Athletics was released to the
public May 4. The 104-page report includes data
on the economic, academic and social impact
of athletics on the university and lists possible
courses of action for the board.
The four options described by the report as
viable are: remaining in the National Collegiate
Athletic Association's Division 1-A; moving from
Division I-A to Division I-AA, in which football
is less competitive and schools are limited to
fewer football scholarships; dropping the foot-
ball program and moving to Division I-AAA, a
non-football division with athletic scholarships;
and moving to Division III, where schools offer
no athletic scholarships.
The board commissioned the McKinsey re-
port after reviewing a report on athletics at Rice
made by the Faculty Council Subcommittee on
Athletics in May2003. The subcommittee's report
addressed topics ranging from the cost of athletics
to the admission process for student-athletes, and
it concluded that more study was needed to deter-
mine whether Rice should continue to participate
in athletics at the Division 1-A level.
The board plans to decide on a course of
action by the end of May.
Fans await Board's decision
Friends of Rice Athletics protest possible move from I-A
by Jenny Rees
THRESHER KDITORIAl. STAFF
In compiling the report, McKinsey staff
members gathered Rice institutional data; re-
searched the history of intercollegiate athletics
and the athletic programs of peer institutions; in-
terviewed Rice administrators, faculty members
and students, as well as experts outside Rice;
and conducted nine focus groups of students,
faculty and staff members.
In its introduction, the report states the
board should address the question of what type
of athletic program Rice should have.
"How willing is Rice to invest the time and
money and to make the admissions trade-offs
required for the program to be an overwhelming
success and source of pride?" the report asks.
Current program
The report begins with a review of Rice's
current athletic program. Although Rice is
the second-smallest school in Division I-A, the
report states that Rice athletics have enjoyed
"extraordinary success." Rice has won 20
Western Athletic Conference championships
in eight sports during the past six years and
won the NCAA baseball championship in 2003.
The report also commends Rice athletics for
maintaining high standards.
"Rice... serves as a model nationally of how
intercollegiate athletics should be 'done right'
with zero major National Collegiate Athletic
Association violations, some of the highest
athlete graduation rates in Division I, and a
talented staff that is built around the broad
see MCKINSEY. Page 12
Faculty, alumni, students and community
members are expressing strong opinions on
the proper role of athletics at Rice following the
release of a report on Rice athletics commis-
sioned by the Board ofTrustees. The board,
which is conducting a periodic review of the
athletic program, commissioned the report in
June from the management consulting firm
McKinsey & Company.
The McKinsey report outlines several pos-
sible courses of action for Rice but does not
recommend any one option over the others.
The board released the report to the public
May 4 by posting it on the Rice Web site along
with a form for sending comments to the
board. A statement released with the report
explained the board's goals.
"As it does with all facels of the university
from time to time, the Board currently is review-
ing the athletic program," the statement reads.
"To obtain full and objective information, the
Trusteescommissioned McKinsey & Co., a top
management-consulting firm, to do research on
all aspects of Rice's athletic program, including
budgets, academic and athletic success rates,
and of the changing national picture."
The statement said the board had re-
viewed the report but had not yet made any
decisions, although its current sense was
that Rice should continue to participate in
Division I athletics at some level.
"With the intention of completing its review
by the end of May, the Board now invites the
Rice community to read the McKinsey Report
and ... to make informed comment," the state-
ment reads.
The board requested feedback on four major
topics raised by the McKinsey report: the ap-
propriate level of athletic competition for Rice,
the need for a new recreation and convocation
center, the academic and social integration
of student-athletes, and the financial deficit
incurred by the athletic department.
"The Board is agreed that the deficit must be
brought under control through a combination of
increased revenues, cost controls and greater
funding from donations," the statement reads.
Board member Terry Koonce, chair of the
board subcommittee reviewing athletics told
the Houston Chronicle that the board will con-
sider all its options regarding athletics, but the
completeeliminationofvarsity sports would not
be practical ("Faculty report questions costs of
Rice sports," April 24).
The online comment form was available
until Monday.
Alumni and fan response
Following reports by the Houston Chronicle
and The Associated Press that Rice athletics may
be in jeopardy, agroupofformerathletesand fans
formed the Friends of Rice Athletics to express
their opinions to the board. Hie group was formed
by about 10peoplebutincludesall2,500members
of the "R" Association, the alumni organization for
Rice varsity letter winners, and all 1 ,000 members
of the Owl Club, a Rice fan group.
The organization placed an ad in the sports
section of the April 28 Chronicle. The ad stated,
"As early as May 1, the Rice University Board
of Trustees may consider the future of Rice
athletics. Help us take a stand in favor of Divi-
sion 1A athletics at Rice."
The ad listed arguments for keeping Divi-
sion I-A athletics and stated that Rice needs
to stay in Division I-A to remain in a major
conference. It cited Rice's 2002 student-athlete
graduation rate — the highest of all NCAA
schools — as well as the NCAA Academic
Achievement Award Rice won last year.
The ad also stated that athletics accounts for
3.19 percent of Rice's operating budget, "a small
price to maintain our national image, retain alumni
support, attract top. well-rounded students and
provide a window to the 'Rice Experience' for the
City of Houston."
See RESPONSE, Page 14
Nice cup!
Congratulations to Ihe Ri< e teams
that won Western Athletic Conference
championships last weekend — men's
track and field, women's track and field
and baseball. With those victories, Rice
won the Commissioner's Cup for all-
sports performance iu the WAC. Keep
up the good work.
Bye for now
It's the last Thresher of the year, so
congratulations, graduates, and wel-
come, Class of 2008. We hope everyone
has a safe and happy summer—whether
you're selling your soul as an intern
at Schlumberger, teaching test prep
courses at Kaplan, reading Who Moved
My Cheese? while lazing on the beach,
hooking up with that random ex from
high school or waiting tables at the
Macaroni Grill — and we'll see you for
the Orientation Week issue Aug. 20.
OPINION
Page 3
One-stoplight town
A&E
Page 22
Sammy Awards
SPORTS
Page 28
Tennis in Sweet Sixteen
"I'm going to stay out of the way of those big
heavy fists as much as 1 can. You're going to
see a lot of fancy footwork."
— Malcolm Gillis, president. See Story, Page 1.
Men's Tennis
South Alabama 1, Rice 4
Rice 4, LSU 0
Friday
Mostly sunny, 86-72 degrees
Saturday
Mostly sunny, 87-73 degrees
Sunday
Mostly sunny, 88-72 degrees
Gillis to fight former boxing champ
by Risa Gordon
IUKKSHKR F.I>rrOHIAI. STAFF
In his last month in office, Rice
President Malcolm Gillis has discov-
ered an innovative new fund-raising
technique. If all goes as planned, Gillis
will enter the boxing ring to duke it
out with former heavyweight cham-
pion George Foreman — and secure
donations to Rice in the process.
(iillis, whose presidential t<Tin ends
July 1, will face Foreman in a boxing
match some time between June 13 and
the end of June. The location has yet
to be determined. Vice President for
Public Affairs Terry Shepard said.
"We're just waiting for the Fore-
man camp to name a date and a
place," Shepard said.
Gillis said the idea for the match
first came up when he was having
lunch with Foreman several months
ago. Cjillis raised the subject again in
December, and Foreman, who has
decided to come out of retirement,
agreed to the match.
Foreman and Gillis originally
discussed only a three-minute boxing
round. However, (iillis has been ap-
proached by more than 40 individuals
offering to donate money in order to
watch the event, Shepard said. Shepard
said if the match is turned into a charity
event, it may last two rounds.
"Mr. Foreman has said that he
would like any proceeds from this
to go to student scholarships at Rice
—and it turns out there may be some
[proceeds], because an awful lot of
people are coming up to Malcolm and
saying, Td pay a lot of money to see
this,'" Shepard said.
Fox Sports Network has ex-
pressed interest in airing the match
on television, but nothing definite has
been decided, Shepard said.
Richard Johnson, an associate of
Foreman, said Foreman agreed to
box (iillis because he respects the
See BOXING, Page 8
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Gilbert, Lindsey & Yardley, Jonathan. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 91, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, May 21, 2004, newspaper, May 21, 2004; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398446/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.