A new take on a longtime college football rivalry game, as the Rice Bowl is making a comeback this year. The first edition is being held this Saturday between ULM and Arkansas State. Brice Jones with ULM says the resurrection of the game was the brainchild of the school’s new president, Dr. Carrie Castille.
“When she became president a few months ago, she had the idea to resurrect this Rice Bowl which was in existence between Arkansas State and McNeese when they were playing in the same conference,” Jones said.
Jones notes that Arkansas is the largest rice-producing state in the country, and Louisiana is not far behind at No. 3. He says the two schools are using the occasion of the Rice Bowl not only athletically, but also academically.
“One of the goals in this is to really involve the agricultural departments at each individual school, both programmatically, but also with the leadership and engaging our partnerships with our industry,” Jones explained.
Jones says the Rice Bowl is a great way to promote the rice industry in the two states.
“We just look at this as an interesting, fun way to engage, not only through sports rivalry, but also to shine a light on what we do best and what we own here in our backyard,” Jones said.
Jones says it’s fitting that the game will be played the last Saturday of September, which happens to be National Rice Month.
