CINCINNATI, OHIO – OCTOBER 29: Cincinnati Bengals head coach Homer Rice talks with guard Mark Donahue (number 66) on the sideline during a game against the Houston Oilers at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 29, 1978. The Bengals defeated the Oilers 28-13. (Photo by George Gojkovic/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Dr. Homer Rice, a football coach and college sports administrator who began his career at East Tennessee State and is credited with developing the foundation for the NCAA’s Life Skills program, died Monday at age 97.
Rice’s death was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. According to an obituary shared by Georgia Tech, Rice began his high school football coaching career in East Tennessee in 1951 after excelling in football and baseball at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.
He served as head coach at Wartburg Central and Spring City High Schools before moving to Fort Thomas Highlands High School in Kentucky, where he had a career record of 101 wins, 9 losses and 7 ties in 11 seasons of high school football.
Rice spent 15 years as a college football coach, serving as both an assistant coach and head coach. The Bellevue, Kentucky, native came to Rice University in 1976, where he served as both head coach and athletic director, before going on to coach the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals for two seasons.
Georgia Tech hired Rice as athletic director in 1980, and he served in that position until 1997. During his tenure, the Yellow Jackets won 16 ACC championships in five sports and also won a football national championship in 1990. The men’s basketball team made its first Final Four appearance in 1990.
Atlanta is also where he developed and implemented the Total Person Program, a personal development program for student-athletes that became the model for the NCAA life skills program still taught in schools across the country today.
“Throughout his career, Homer reminded us that the ultimate goal of college sports is for student-athletes to develop fully as human beings,” Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera said. “At a time of great change in the sports world, Homer’s message and legacy of excellence is more important than ever.”
