Nov. 29, 2006

After leading his team to the largest improvement in Division I-A this season, Rice's first-year head football coach Todd Graham has been named the Conference USA Coach of the Year, as selected by a panel of media members in each conference city.

Graham took over the reigns of the Rice football program on January 1 and less than one year later has transformed a team that finished 1-10 last season into a squad that will play in the school's first bowl game in 45 years. On December 22, the Owls will play in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, ending the second-longest bowl drought in college football.

Rice will enter its bowl game on a six-game winning streak, the longest in Conference USA. After opening the season at 0-4 and dealing with the tragic death of freshman DB Dale Lloyd on Sept. 24, the Owls posted an emotional 48-14 victory at Army on Sept. 30. Following a loss at Tulane on Oct. 7, Rice has not lost a football game, including posting three victories on its final offensive play.

After being picked to finish in last place in the West Division, the Owls finished in second place with a 6-2 league ledger. Only a one-point loss on opening day against Houston prohibited the Blue and Gray from playing in the C-USA Championship game.

Under the direction of Graham, the former Tulsa defensive coordinator, six Rice players earned All-Conference recognition this season, including a pair of first team selections. Included was record-setting sophomore wide receiver Jarett Dillard, a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award who set a new Conference USA record with a nation-leading 20 touchdown catches.

This is the second year in a row that the Conference USA Coach of the Year has engineered the largest regular season turnaround in Division I-A, as UCF's George O'Leary accomplished the feat last season.