The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, December 2, 2005 Page: 8 of 20
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THE RICE THRESHER
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2,2005
HATFIELD
From page 1
in a meeting Wednesday before the
press conference. Brown College
senior Adam Herrin, a linebacker on
the football team, said team members
were surprised when they heard ru-
mors Hatfield might resign. Herrin
said he enjoyed playing for Hatfield.
"I've been here five years, and
I have a personal relationship with
him," Herrin said. "But it has really af-
fected the guys who are coming back.
It's been tough and unfortunately,
they're just going to have to adapt and
look forward to next season."
Hatfield held his usual end-of-
season news conference Tuesday, at
which he spoke about looking forward
to next season. May said answering
questions that way was necessary be-
cause Hatfield had not yet resigned.
"Something of this magnitude
takes time," May said. "There's a pro-
cess involved, and until that process
is brought to conclusion, there is no
change that you can discuss.... Ken
would not have been in a position to
make comments [Tuesday]."
Search process
A search committee including
player and staff representatives will
be formed soon, May said. May will
probably work with President David
Leebron in forming the search com-
mittee, Crownover said. Crownover
will not be formally involved in the
search process.
May said one of his main concerns
is finding a coach who understands
Rice's culture.
"We need someone who eats,
sleeps and drinks football but who
understands the academic challenges
that student-athletes will face at
Rice, and who is prepared to come
in knowing all that and feels they
can be successful here," May said.
"1 absolutely believe ... we can find
someone who can meet the challenge
here in every respect."
May said he admires Hatfield's
integrity and character and hopes to
find a new coach with similar traits.
"Successful programs build
character, develop leadership skills
and prepare student-athletes for life
after athletics," May said. "As we as-
sess candidates, we feel can build a
winning program on the field, [and]
these additional components will not
be overlooked."
May said Rice's selling points
include its 70,000-seat stadium, its
international reputation and its foot-
ball tradition.
May said finding a new head
coach will be easier because Hatfield
resigned shortly after Saturday's
season-ending game against the
University of Houston.
"I think the timing — and you
can thank Ken for that — is going
to give us our largest window," May
said. "We'd like to [find a new coach]
before the end of the bowl season."
The new head coach will make his
own decision about whether or not
to retain any of Rice's nine assistant
football coaches. May said.
Hatfield at Rice
Although the football team has lost
16ofitslast 17games, Hatfield coached
Rice to three of its five winning seasons
since 1963. Hatfield replaced Fred
Goldsmith in 1994, and Rice defeated
the University of Texas and earned a
share of the Southwest Conference
title that season. Hatfield said that
game against UT is one of his favorite
memories from coaching at Rice.
"It was on national TV ... on Sun-
day night, and it was unopposed by
any other sporting event," Hatfield
said. "We hadn't won [against UT]
in 25 years. ... To see N.D. Kalu
(Baker '02), who's still playing for the
Philadelphia Eagles, have two sacks
late in the game, and for us to go on
to tie for the Southwest Conference
championship in the first year, was
monumental."
Hatfield said another of his favor-
ite moments came in 1996, when Rice
defeated an undefeated University of
Utah team at home.
"We played a Utah team that was
ranked 16th in the country and was
6-0, and we beat them 51-6," Hatfield
said. "It was a thrashing—they didn't
know how to stop us."
"Football is the
financial driver of the
athletic department,
and that's what we're
having to address now."
— Bobby May (Will Rice '65)
Athletic director
In 1997, Rice went 7-4 in the West-
ern Athletic Conference and won
games against defending WAC cham-
pion Brigham Young University and
two-time defending Big 10 champion
Northwestern University. Hatfield said
he wishes that team would have been
selected to play in a bowl game, since
the opportunity to play another game
would have given Rice the chance to
become the only school ever to have
three 1,000-yard rushers. Michael
Perry (Brown '00) finished that sea-
son with 1,034 yards, fourth all-time
at Rice, while Chad Nelson had 953,
sixth all-time, and Benji Wood (Jones
'98) ran for 936, tenth all-time.
More recently, Rice went 8-4 in
2001 but again did not receive a bowl
bid despite being eligible for the third
time in six years.
Hatfield said he hopes he has
instilled leadership and a team-first
mentality in his players. Even when
they lose games, the players practiced
with intensity, Hatfield said.
"You see them on Saturday when
the score was not in our favor, but I
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saw them when they came out on
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,"
Hatfield said. "With a heart of a cham-
pion, they prepared to be the best they
could be that day. They put behind
them what had happened last week
and they tried to be better."
Herrin said Hatfield's focus on
leadership distinguishes him from
other coaches.
"One of the differences he brings
to the table that maybe some other
coaches don't is a strong foundation for
leadership," Herrin said. "He brings
that type of nurturing mentality and
encourages us not only to be good
football players but also to be good
students and good people. I think that's
missing in college football today and
is one of his great attributes."
Hatfield said he is not currently
pursuing any other coaching jobs
and is unsure whether or not he will
coach again.
Athletics at Rice
After Hatfield resigned, ques-
tions from fans and the local media
centered around the athletic depart-
ment's budget, both for a new coach
and for potential facilities upgrades
in order to attract better candidates.
May said he will work to make the
Rice job sought after.
"We need to get our ducks in a row,
and we need to present the best face
we can to the people who will have an
interest in thisjob," May said. "We need
to make as many commitments as we
can in order to make this job compel-
ling. I think we have so much going for
us — it's a great institution with great
history and a great new conference
— and we need to capitalize."
The McKinsey Report on In-
tercollegiate Athletics, which was
released in May 2004, stated the Rice
athletic department had a deficit of
more than $10 million in fiscal year
2(K)2-'03. The board committed to
supporting Division 1-A athletics
shortly after the McKinsey Report
was completed, but Crownover said
that commitment also required the
athletic department to do a better
job of managing its budget.
"We are supportive, and we re-
ally hope that they are successful,"
Crownover said. "But just like any
other part of the university, it's going
to be up to the leadership and the
volunteers who support it to make
it successful. We wish them all the
luck, but that's their job."
Crownover said the board has
been pleased with the success of
other sports teams. A former part-
ner with McKinsey & Company,
Crownover said Rice's athletic pro-
gram is somewhat similar to an
investment fund.
"At any time in an athletic pro-
gram, just like in a business portfolio,
some [elements] are going to do
well and some will not do so well,"
Crownover said. "Over a period of
time, there are going to be some that
Former football coach Ken Hatfield
always do better than others."
May said he hopes football will
someday generate more revenue.
"Football is the financial driver of
the athletic department, and that's
what we're having to address now,"
May said. "That's why we need to get
somebody who can excite the com-
munity, excite the alums and excite
the former players so that they will
indeed want to be in Rice Stadium on
Saturday afternoons."
Another way to generate revenue
is by playing road games against op-
ponents that sell out their stadiums
and pay Rice to play them. Next year,
the football team's non-conference
schedule includes games at the
University of California-I>os Angeles
and Florida State University as well
as a game against the University of
Texas at Reliant Stadium.
"When you have directives from
the board that you have to meet
[revenue] targets, then you have to
take the action that will enable you
or give you the best shot at meeting
those targets," May said. "But at the
same time, you have to try not to put
your coach and your team regularly at
a disadvantage. ... We have to show
that we're going to deliver on what
we said we were going to do."
Crownover said the board is not
involved in day-to-day athletic depart-
ment operations.
"We're supportive of the program,
and we help finance the progi am, but
that's where the board [drops] off,"
Crownover said. 'TTiere seems to be
some sort of misunderstanding that
somehow we're intimately involved
in all aspects of the program."
Despite media and fan perception
to the contrary, May said the ath-
letic department has the necessary
resources.
"We feel that we have the support
here from the university that we need
to be successful," May said.
However, Hatfield began his
statement in the press conference
by calling for support.
"I hope the Rice administration,
the board, the faculty and all the fans
will rally around this new opportunity
and give the current players and the
future recruits the supi>ort needed to
be successful in Conference USA,"
Hatfield said.
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Obermeyer, Amber. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, December 2, 2005, newspaper, December 2, 2005; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443095/m1/8/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.