<p>does rice have great support for its athletic teams? it seems students would be grateful for having DI sports at such a small school (with a kicka** baseball team), so are Rice students supportive, i.e. go to the games, express interest in professional sports in the Houston area, etc?</p>
<p>And why does Rice have such a huge football stadium when it only has 5,000 students!?</p>
<p>Hah, good question dauntlessthedrab!</p>
<p>Our stadium was built for the Super Bowl, which is why it's so big. We actually used to sell out our old stadium (around 50,000 seats) in the 40s and 50s because we were the only place in Houston to see football.</p>
<p>To answer your question, support for athletics is spotty at best. There are some students who go to every game, some who enjoy going but aren't that enthusiastic, some who follow and cheer for the teams but don't go to that many games, some who get dragged by their friends, and some who wonder why Rice has sports at all.</p>
<p>Right now the basketball team is having trouble getting support, since they're playing off-campus. The baseball team gets support, but most people follow the team without going to the games, and then watch the CWS on TV. Football games probably get the most students.</p>
<p>I'm personally happy to have DI-A teams, but it's frustrating to have such a long stretch of mediocrity.</p>
<p>Fan base is relatively small, but those who do attend are fiercely loyal.</p>