Homer Rice

Homer C. Rice (February 20, 1927 – June 10, 2024) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he lettered in both football and baseball and was named a Collier's All-American in football in 1948. From 1951 to 1961, Rice coached high school football in Tennessee and Kentucky, compiling a record of 101–9–7 while running the triple option offense. In 1962, Charlie Bradshaw hired him as offensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky, where he coached the offense for four years, led the SEC in offense, and won the national passing title. During the 1966 season, he served as offensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma. As Director of Athletics at Georgia Tech, Rice developed and implemented the Total Person Program, which became the model for the NCAA Life Skills Program now in place at universities throughout the nation. The Centre football team awards the Homer Rice Award to its special teams' most valuable player each season, and he was named to the Centre Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.