Georgia
Rice, longtime coach and Ga. Tech AD, dies at 97
ATLANTA — Homer Rice, who as athletic director hired some of Georgia Tech’s most successful coaches and implemented the school’s Total Person Program, has died. He was 97.
Rice died Monday, according to the school.
Rice was Georgia Tech’s athletic director from 1980-97. Among his notable hires were basketball coach Bobby Cremins, football coaches Bobby Ross and George O’Leary and baseball coaches Jim Morris and Danny Hall. Georgia Tech won a share of the 1990 national football championship and its first Atlantic Coast Conference basketball championship in 1985 while advancing to the Final Four in 1990.
The Yellow Jackets won 16 ACC championships in five sports during Rice’s time leading the athletic department.
Rice was a high school, college and NFL football coach before beginning his career as an administrator. He coached the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals in 1979-79 before beginning his time at Georgia Tech.
Rice was a college assistant at Kentucky (1962-65) and Oklahoma (1966) and was the coach at Cincinnati (1967-68) before leaving to serve six years as North Carolina’s athletic director. He was hired in 1976 as athletic director and football coach at Rice in Texas and held those positions for two years.
Rice’s Total Person Program is regarded as the model for the NCAA’s Life Skills Program. The Homer Rice Award is presented annually to a FBS athletic director in recognition for significant contributions to college athletics.
“Homer has reminded us throughout his career that the ultimate goal of intercollegiate athletics is to help student-athletes grow fully as people,” Georgia Tech president Ángel Cabrera said in a statement released by the school. “At a time of profound changes in athletics, Homer’s message and legacy of excellence is more important than ever.”
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement Rice’s Total Person Program “was ahead of its time and paved the way for NCAA programming by preparing student-athletes for life beyond collegiate athletics. Each of the seven pillars of the Total Person program continue to resonate with not only myself, but every one of Dr. Rice’s peers, colleagues, and former student-athletes.”
Phillips said Rice, a native of Bellevue, Kentucky, “was incredibly influential in the development of student-athletes, not only at North Carolina and Georgia Tech, but throughout college athletics.”
Former ACC commissioner and UNC athletic director John Swofford said Rice, AD at UNC when he graduated in 1971, was his inspiration to pursue a career in athletic administration.
“He was my mentor then, and has been throughout my adult life,” Swofford said in a statement. “I had the privilege of serving for 17 years as an A.D. with him in the ACC while he was at Georgia Tech and I was at UNC. Simply put, he was the best Athletic Director that I ever observed during my half century in college sports. He was the best leader, the most organized, the best motivator, the best innovator. He was full of integrity, decency and class.”
Rice taught a leadership class at Georgia Tech until recent years and wrote a number of books on leadership success.
Georgia Tech dedicated a statue of Rice outside of Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2021. Dodd and John Heisman are the only other in Georgia Tech athletics to be commemorated with a statue.
Rice’s wife of 64 years, Phyllis, died in 2013. He married his second wife, Karen, in 2015.
Rivian announced some changes today with regard to the factory its building in the state of Georgia.
The company was planning to build the facility in two phases, each resulting in 200,000 vehicles of annual production capacity, for a total of 400,000 units. Rivian held a ground breaking ceremony late last year.
Now the company says it is only planning for 300,000 units of annual capacity as a result of a revised loan agreement with the US Department of Energy — though its planning on hitting that annual capacity sooner than originally planned. DOE will now loan Rivian $4.5 billion, instead of the originally agreed amount of $6.6 billion, which had been announced in the last days of the Biden administration.
In 2024, Rivian put its Georgia factory plans on hold, as it lacked the funds to start the construction. The company argued that the pause also allowed Rivian to launch its mid-sized R2 vehicle sooner. R2 production kicked off at the company’s factory in Normal, Illinois this month. And meanwhile, Rivian was negotiating with DOE, now under the anti-EV Trump administration, to secure its loan.
Those negotiations have now resulted in a lower amount for Rivian. As vertical construction starts this year, the company says it expects to first draw on the loan by early 2027, and remains on track for vehicle production in Georgia in late 2028. The DOE loan “is aligned with the updated facility design and roadmap at up to $4.5 billion,” the company said in a press release.
The company also maintains it has plenty of space for future expansion, should it have enough money to fund the construction. Rivian reported rising revenue as part of its first quarter earnings.
No. 17 Georgia softball (34-16) closes its regular season slate at home in Athens beginning Thursday, April 30, against the No. 6 Gators (45-7).
The last time Georgia faced Florida was in the 2025 Super Regionals as part of the Women’s College World Series. The Gators defeated the Bulldogs, 2-1, in a best of three series to eliminate their chance of taking a trip to Oklahoma City.
The SEC Tournament is set for Lexington, Ky., between May 5-9. The NCAA Regionals is set across various campus sites between May 15-17, and NCAA Super Regionals are set across various campus sites between May 21-24. The Women’s College World Series is set for May 28-June 5 in Oklahoma City, as always.
Here’s what you need to know about the Georgia-Florida weekend series to end the Bulldogs’ 2026 slate of competition:
What channel is Georgia softball vs. Florida?
- Streaming: SEC Network+, ESPN
Georgia’s weekend series against Florida will be streamed through the SEC Network+ on Friday and Saturday, and ESPN on Sunday. Fans looking to stream the games can go to the ESPN app. An ESPN select subscription totals $12.99 monthly or $129.00 annually, while an ESPN unlimited subscription totals $29.99 monthly or $299.99 annually.
There is no other way to tune into these games, as the university is not streaming the game audio on their radiocast.
Georgia softball start times vs. Florida
Start times for Georgia’s three-game weekend series against Florida in Athens:
Date
Time (ET)
Thursday, April 30
6 p.m.
Friday, May 1
6 p.m.
Saturday, May 2
Noon
Georgia vs Florida softball history
- Series record: Florida leads, 49-33
- Georgia’s last win: May 24, 2025; 2-1
- Florida’s last win: May 25, 2025; 5-2
Georgia softball 2026 schedule
Record: 34-16 overall, 10-11 SEC
- SEC competition*
- Red & Black Showcase^
- Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational#
- Georgia Classic/
- Bulldog Classic//
| Date & Time | Opponent | Location | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 6 @ 3:30 p.m. | Missouri State^ | Athens | W, 10-1 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 6 @ 6 p.m. | Fordham^ | Athens | W, 7-1 |
| Feb. 7 @ 1 p.m. | Fordham^ | Athens | W, 5-1 |
| Feb. 7 @ 3:30 p.m. | Belmont^ | Athens | W, 12-0 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 8 @ 1 p.m. | Belmont^ | Athens | L, 1-2 |
| Feb. 12 @ 11 a.m. | Oklahoma State# | Clearwater, Fla. | L, 5-6 |
| Feb. 12 @ 4 p.m. | Nebraska# | Clearwater, Fla. | W, 6-5 |
| Feb. 13 @ 9 a.m. | NC State# | Clearwater, Fla. | W, 16-2 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 13 @ 1 p.m. | UCF# | Clearwater, Fla. | W, 13-5 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 14 @ 1 p.m. | Northwestern# | Clearwater, Fla. | W, 8-3 |
| Feb. 14 @ 4 p.m. | Duke# | Clearwater, Fla. | W, 9-1 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 18 @ 4 p.m. | Samford | Athens | W, 13-8 |
| Feb. 20 @ 3:30 p.m. | Seton Hall/ | Athens | W, 9-1 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 20 @ 6 p.m. | Utah State/ | Athens | W, 4-1 |
| Feb. 21 @ 3:30 p.m. | Virginia Tech/ | Athens | L, 3-9 |
| Feb. 21 @ 6 p.m. | Utah State/ | Athens | W, 11-2 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 22 @ 1 p.m. | Virginia Tech/ | Athens | L, 3-9 |
| Feb. 25 @ 6 p.m. | Clemson | Athens | L, 1-10 (6 inn.) |
| Feb. 27 @ 6 p.m. | South Alabama// | Athens | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 28 @ 1 p.m. | South Alabama// | Athens | W, 9-0 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 28 @ 3:30 p.m. | UNC-Wilmington// | Athens | W, 9-1 (5 inn.) |
| March 1 @ 1 p.m. | UNC-Wilmington// | Athens | W, 9-1 (5 inn.) |
| March 4 @ 6 p.m. | Georgia State | Athens | W, 9-1 (5 inn.) |
| March 6 @ 3 p.m. | Arkansas* | Fayetteville, Ark. | W, 7-2 |
| March 7 @ 6 p.m. | Arkansas* | Fayetteville, Ark. | L, 6-7 |
| March 8 @ 2 p.m. | Arkansas* | Fayetteville, Ark. | L, 0-6 |
| March 10 @ 6 p.m. | West Georgia | Athens | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| March 18 @ 6 p.m. | Georgia Tech | Athens | W, 5-1 |
| March 20 @ 6 p.m. | Mississippi State* | Athens | W, 6-3 |
| March 21 @ 2 p.m. | Mississippi State* | Athens | L, 2-3 |
| March 22 @ 2 p.m. | Mississippi State* | Athens | W, 7-4 |
| March 25 @ 6 p.m. | Mercer | Athens | W, 18-1 (5 inn.) |
| March 27 @ 6:30 p.m. | Kentucky* | Lexington, Ky. | W, 10-2 (6 inn.) |
| March 28 @ 2 p.m. | Kentucky* | Lexington, Ky. | W, 11-1 (5 inn.) |
| March 29 @ 1 p.m. | Kentucky* | Lexington, Ky. | W, 5-0 |
| April 2 @ 7 p.m. | Texas A&M* | College Station, Texas | L, 2-3 |
| April 3 @ 5 p.m. | Texas A&M* | College Station, Texas | W, 10-6 |
| April 3 @ 7:30 p.m. | Texas A&M* | College Station, Texas | L, 1-2 |
| April 8 @ 6 p.m. | USC-Upstate | Athens | W, 19-6 (5 inn.) |
| April 10 @ 6 p.m. | Missouri* | Athens | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| April 11 @ 2 p.m. | Missouri* | Athens | L, 3-4 |
| April 12 @ 2 p.m. | Missouri* | Athens | W, 4-0 |
| April 15 @ 6 p.m. | Kennesaw State | Kennesaw, Ga. | W, 7-5 |
| April 18 @ 4 p.m. | Texas* | Athens | L, 5-7 |
| April 19 @ Noon | Texas* | Athens | W, 4-2 |
| April 20 @ 7 p.m. | Texas* | Athens | L, 3-6 (8 inn.) |
| April 22 @ 6 p.m. | Georgia Southern | Athens | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| April 24 @ 7:30 p.m. | Oklahoma* | Norman, Okla. | L, 2-10 (6 inn.) |
| April 25 @ 2:30 p.m. | Oklahoma* | Norman, Okla. | L, 1-3 |
| April 26 @ 1:30 p.m. | Oklahoma* | Norman, Okla. | L, 5-6 |
| April 30 @ 6 p.m. | Florida* | Athens | |
| May 1 @ 6 p.m. | Florida* | Athens | |
| May 2 @ Noon | Florida* | Athens | |
| May 5-9 | SEC Tournament | Lexington, Ky. | |
| May 15-17 | NCAA Regional | Campus sites | |
| May 21-24 | NCAA Super Regional | Campus sites | |
| May 28-June 5 | Women’s College World Series | Oklahoma City, Okla. |
Georgia’s 2027 recruiting class has taken a hit, with four-star cornerback Jerry Outhouse decommitting from the Bulldogs on Wednesday, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.
Outhouse is one of the top players in the country, but was not a member of Georgia’s recruiting class for long. The Fort Worth, Texas, product committed to them on March 6, and less than two months later, is back on the market.
The Bulldogs officially entered his recruitment on May 7, 2025, when they extended him a scholarship offer. He visited Athens multiple times after that before ultimately committing. However, he never shut down his recruitment and is set to take official visits this summer to see the UCLA Bruins, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Arizona State Sun Devils.
He is ranked as the No. 109 overall player and No. 15 cornerback in the Rivals industry ranking. He is also the No. 14 player from Texas. He is the third player to decommit from Kirby Smart’s program in the 2027 recruiting cycle, joining three-star wide receiver Gavin Honore and three-star offensive lineman Kyson Mallard.
His departure leaves Georgia with seven commits. The group is ranked as the No. 9 class in the country and the No. 4 class in the SEC by Rivals. It puts even more pressure on them to hold onto five-star cornerback Donte Wright, who has been committed to Georgia since June 2025, but is being pursued by several other programs.
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