By Chuck Pool
RiceOwls.com
Rice Athletics has announced the creation of a pair of endowed funds totaling $5 million to enhance and support its baseball and men’s and women’s track and cross-country programs.
The named endowments are part of the Moody Foundation’s record $100 million gift to Rice to build a new student center and create endowments to support student opportunity and success in other areas of the university.
“We are grateful to the Moody Foundation, especially alumni Elle Moody and Allan Matthews, for including athletics so prominently in their gift to Rice University,” said Joe Karlgaard, director of athletics, recreation and lifetime fitness at Rice. “Endowments are critical to providing sustained support for our programs and student athletes. The generosity of the Moody Foundation will be felt for generations by thousands of Rice student athletes in their pursuit of excellence.”
The Bevan/Warren Fund in Track/Cross Country is named in honor of longtime head coaches Jim Bevan and Jon Warren and will provide support to the women’s and men’s cross-country and track and field teams. The support is intended to enable their coaches to meet emerging priorities in order to best prepare their student athletes to compete at the highest level of their sport both nationally and internationally.
The Allan Watkins Matthews Fund in Baseball is named in honor of the three-year baseball letterman (1985-87) and current grants director for the Moody Foundation. It will provide a general enhancement endowment to help the coaching staff address program needs for student athlete academic support, equipment upgrades and other priorities in the pursuit of another College World Series title for the Owls.
“I have enjoyed every moment working with the Rice administration and the athletic department to make this gift a reality,” said Matthews. “This $5 million endowment gift to baseball and men’s and women’s track and field is a big win for current and future student athletes of those sports. Coach Warren and Coach Bevan have impacted so many lives at Rice and are well deserving to be recognized with this endowment. For me personally, it is an honor to have my name attached to the baseball fund and one I want to share with all my teammates, coaches and mentors along the way who built a strong base and contributed to where Rice baseball is today.
“I hope this gift from the Moody Foundation inspires former student athletes to give back. Whether it’s a cash gift, a planned gift or even an internship opportunity, all gifts make a difference. Having the opportunity to be a student athlete at Rice changed the trajectory of my life in a positive way.”
“We are so very grateful to the Moody Foundation and more specifically Elle Moody (a former letter winner in track), Ross Moody and Allan Matthews,” said Bevan. “This gift is a game-changer for us, in that we will be able to provide the extras it takes to compete at a high level while also contributing to a great student athlete experience.”
“It is very difficult to express how impactful this gift is,” Warren said. “It will benefit the student athletes at Rice literally forever. As a track alum and as a coach at Rice, I want to personally thank Ross Moody, Elle Moody, Allan Matthews and everyone else at the Moody Foundation for providing such wonderful support of the Rice cross-country and track and field teams.”
“Rice became one of the premier programs in the country because of the level of support from the university, former players and others who dared to dream of Rice standing at the top of the college baseball world, while also preparing our student athletes for success beyond their playing day,” Rice head baseball coach José Cruz Jr. said. “Our mission is to return Rice to the top of the college baseball world and that will be accomplished by recruiting individuals who are driven to excel on and off the field. This fund will be crucial in creating a student athlete experience where excellence is the norm.”
Rice Athletics is in the midst of a comprehensive capital campaign to raise $100 million by the end of 2025 as part of the university’s $2 billion “Be Bold: The Campaign for Rice.” To learn more about the landmark campaign, the most ambitious in Rice Athletics history, visit https://giving.rice.edu/be-bold/rice-athletics.