An estimated 75 per cent of Rice University students reside on campus grounds. Like Ivy League universities Oxford and Cambridge, Rice dwellers are divided amongst eleven residential colleges. Each college provides housing, food and a sense of community for its inhabitants, much like a Greek organization, which Rice does not offer. Each college is named for a historical figure that has in some way enriched the university. Entering students are assigned to colleges at random with the exception of those "legacies" who have close family members who were residents of a particular college.
Athletics
Rice athletics consists of baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, gold, tennis and track-and-field. The men's baseball team has proven to be the most successful of the university's sports teams. The team has won 14 consecutive conference championships and in 2003, the Rice men's baseball team defeated the prestigious Stanford University in the College World Series. Rice Owls men's basketball team has also received numerous conference titles and one of its recent members was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2007.
Famous Alumni
These famous individuals have attended or graduated from Rice University.
• Mayor Annise Parker
• William P. Hobby
• Candace Bushnell
• Howard Hughes
• Larry Izzo
• Jose Cruz Jr.
