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What Rice University’s move to the American Athletic Conference means for the school

By Chandler France – Reporter, Houston Business Journal
Jun 5, 2023

While much attention has been paid to the University of Houston’s move to the Big 12 Conference, another local university is also making a significant conference move come July 1.

Rice University is moving from the Conference USA athletic conference to the American Athletic Conference — the conference UH is leaving to join the Big 12. Rice initially accepted its invitation to join the AAC in October 2021, a move that will become official in less than a month.

The decision makes sense for Rice on a number of levels, said Joe Karlgaard, Rice University’s director of athletics, recreation and lifetime fitness. Rice is currently the only private institution in CUSA and competes against schools that are mostly unfamiliar to its fanbase, he said. Rice aligns better academically with the AAC, which allows the school to compete against more recognizable universities for its fans, such as Southern Methodist University, Tulane University and the University of Tulsa.

RIce will also get national exposure on linear television as a result of the move. A minimum of 40 AAC football games and 60 AAC basketball games will be broadcast on ESPN’s primary television networks, which include ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Additionally, nearly every conference-controlled game in all sports will appear either on an ESPN network or on ESPN+, according to the conference’s media rights deal with ESPN.

“The exposure to linear television is important to us,” Karlgaard said. “It may be on Thursday or Friday, it may be on ESPNU and not the flagship ESPN, but it’s still an opportunity that we haven’t had for the last 10 years.”