Rice Athletics and the Office of Academic Advising recognized the newest class of scholar-athlete award winners and honored longtime advisor Julie Griswold at the 40th Annual Scholar Athlete Celebration held on March 5 at Rice Stadium.
The event marked a milestone as Rice Vice President and Director of Athletics Tommy McClellend announced that the annual celebration will now be called the Julie Griswold Scholar-Athlete Banquet. Griswold, who created the dinner in 1987, is retiring after four decades of advising student-athletes at Rice.
Award recipients were selected based on their character and achievements both academically and athletically. The selection process involves choosing from Honor Athletes—students who have maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher over at least five semesters. Each varsity team can nominate up to three roster members for the title of Scholar Athlete, with final selections made by the Office of Academic Advising for Athletes in collaboration with coaching staff. Senior honor athletes from each sport were also recognized during the dinner.
The list of 2026 Scholar Athletes includes representatives from baseball, soccer, basketball, swim & dive, tennis, cross country, track & field, football, golf, and volleyball. Senior Honor Athletes were also named across these sports.
The renaming of the banquet highlights Griswold’s longstanding commitment to supporting student-athletes’ academic success at Rice. As she retires after forty years of service, her legacy will continue through this annual event.
