National Football Foundation

A product of the gridiron and an All-American football player at Centre College in Kentucky, Homer Rice embarked on a career that encompassed every level and every aspect of athletics, and he is credited with inventing the triple option offense. He coached at the high school level for 11 seasons before becoming an assistant football coach at Kentucky and Oklahoma. He then became an administrator as the athletics director at North Carolina, followed by a period where he was both the athletics director and the head coach at Rice. He left the college ranks to take a shot at the NFL as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. He then returned to the administration side as the athletics director at Georgia Tech for the final 18 years of his career.
 
His pioneering work, which created the Student-Athlete Total Person Program at Georgia Tech, placed him in the vanguard of developing college athletics programs that focused on graduation rates and the long-term success of their student-athletes, and his vision became the foundation for the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills program.
 
He transformed the Georgia Tech athletics department, raising more than $100 million. The Yellow Jacket teams won 14 ACC championships, including a national football title in 1990 and an appearance in the 2004 NCAA Men's Final Four. The Georgia Tech baseball team advanced to the College World Series for the first time in 1994. There were also three Olympic gold medalists during his tenure, and he led the effort to launch the women's athletics program.
 
After serving as athletics director at Georgia Tech, Dr. Rice, continued to make his home in Atlanta while mentoring the next generation as an adjunct professor at Georgia Tech's Ivan Allen College in Sports, Society, and Technology. The chair of the program bears his name. Among his countless distinctions and honors, the Homer Rice Award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I FBS athletics director that has made significant and meaningful contributions to intercollegiate athletics.
 
In 2021, a statue of Rice was dedicated outside of Bobby Dodd Stadium. He is one of only three athletics figures to be commemorated with a statue at Georgia Tech, joining John Heisman and Bobby Dodd. In addition to being legendary coaches at Georgia Tech, Heisman and Dodd also served as Tech's director of athletics during their time on The Flats. Both are also College Football Hall of Fame inductees.
 
He wrote a number of books on leadership success, including Leadership for Leaders in 1984, Lessons for Leaders in 2000, and Leadership Fitness in 2004.

He passed away June 10, 2024 at the age of 97.