Northern Kentucky lost another of its high school football coaching greats this week. Homer Rice, at Highlands High School during the early stages of his hall of fame coaching career, passed away Monday. He was 97. Rice’s death follows the recent passing of former championship-winning Beechwood football coach Mike Yeagle.
Rice was nationally recognized, first as a player, then coach and college athletics administrator. He was athletic director at three NCAA Division I schools: North Carolina, Rice and Georgia Tech.
“We mourn the loss of Homer Rice, an integral part of the Yellow Jacket family,” Georgia Tech said on social media. “We send our condolences to the Rice family and friends, and we’re forever grateful for the impact Homer left on our department, our Institute, our community and student-athletes nationwide.”
Rice was known as a man with impeccable character and uncommon humbleness.
“Dr. Homer Rice dedicated his entire life to creating and promoting the total student-athlete,” said a North Carolina statement. “He was incredibly influential in the development of student-athletes, not only at North Carolina and Georgia Tech, but throughout college athletics.”
Rice was born in Bellevue in 1927. He went to high school at Highlands. He played football, basketball and baseball. Rice joined the Navy in 1944, according to his hall of fame bio at Centre College. Rice was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Station north of Chicago, where he played baseball. He caught Hall of Fame pitcher and future Cleveland Indian Bob Feller while playing for the naval station baseball team. The batboy for the team was 10-year-old Mike Brown, current owner of the Cincinnati Bengals. At the time, Brown’s father, Paul Brown, was coach of the Great Lakes Naval Station football team.
Rice played football at Centre College and was a Collier’s All-American in 1948 while also playing basketball. He graduated from Centre in 1951. Rice also attended Eastern Kentucky University and Columbia Pacific University. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a doctorate and became Dr. Homer Rice.
Rice coached football at three levels: high school, college and pros. He began his coaching career in 1951 at Wartburg Central High School in Tennessee. Rice then moved to Spring City High in Tennessee. He coached Highlands from 1954-61, enjoying his most successful seasons later in his stay. The 1957 Bluebirds went 10-0. Rice led Highlands to unbeaten state championships in 1960 and 1961. He averaged nine wins a season. According to one bio, Rice compiled a career high school record of 101–9–7. He had more than 70 wins at Highlands. In 11 high school seasons, he had seven undefeated teams. He won his last 50 games at Highlands, according to Centre College.
Rice left Highlands in 1962 to become offensive coordinator at University of Kentucky. He went to Oklahoma to become OC in 1966. Rice was later head coach at University of Cincinnati in the late 1960s. He also had a two-year stint at Rice beginning in 1976. He was 12-28-1 as a college coach. Rice reunited with Paul Brown and coached the Bengals for two years in 1978 and 1979. He posted a record of 8-19.
Rice is credited with helping pioneer the air option offense in high school. It’s also known as the triple-option offense. One of his books is titled: Winning Football With The Air Option Passing Game. Rice first implemented the new offense at Highlands, where he simply called it “the triple.” The quarterback had the option to hand off the football to the fullback. Or he could keep it and run, or pitch to the halfback. Rice shared the idea with Texas coach Darrell Royal, who is widely credited with pioneering the triple option.
Bengals owner Paul Brown recognized Rice’s potential and wanted him to remain Bengals head coach. But Rice reportedly took a $62,000 a year pay cut and went to Georgia Tech to fulfill a goal. He wanted to build an athletic program. According to his bios, he made that move with the student-athlete Total Person Program as a cornerstone. The program has become a model for the NCAA Life Skills Program.
When Rice became Georgia Tech athletic director in 1980, he decided to stay in one place. He built a legacy. Rice remained on the job until 1997 with great success most notably by the national championship-winning Georgia Tech football team. The Yellow Jackets won it all in 1990.
Rice taught a leadership class. He wrote books about leadership. He developed leadership programs and foundations. Rice was also a civic leader, speaker and lecturer. He won countless awards and honors and was an inductee at numerous halls of fame. Rice will be inducted into the National Football Foundation Leadership Hall of Fame in Atlanta on June 20. He was inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. Rice was inducted into the Highlands High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
Rice has numerous awards named in his honor including the Homer Rice Award. It’s given every year to the NCAA Division I athletic director making the most significant contributions. There is a statue in his likeness standing outside Georgia Tech’s football stadium. It was dedicated in 2021.
“His most important legacy is in the education and self-esteem the student-athletes earned by going through his program,” former Georgia Tech football player and coach Bill Curry told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If you took the Total Person program, it affected everything else in your life and made a difference in your life. I think that’s Homer’s gift.”