Bloomgren Joins Rice

Winter 2018

Stanford’s Mike Bloomgren was named Rice’s 19th head football coach by Joe Karlgaard, director of athletics, recreation and lifetime fitness. Bloomgren agreed to a five-year contract. “Mike Bloomgren is a bright, driven and relentless coach who fits perfectly with our vision for championships on the field, scholarship in the classroom and service to others,” Karlgaard said during the Dec. 6, 2017, press conference announcing the new hire.

Bloomgren comes to Rice after seven seasons with the Cardinals, first as the offensive line coach and then assuming the reins of Stanford’s pro-style offensive attack in 2013. Stanford has won eight or more games in each of Bloomgren’s seasons and reached the Pac-12 Football Championship four times, winning three titles. He most recently served as associate head coach and offensive coordinator.

“I am excited and humbled to lead the football program at Rice,” Bloomgren said. “In my seven years at Stanford, I have seen firsthand how elite college athletics and academics can not only coexist but thrive together. I want to create an environment at Rice where every player’s dreams are realized on and off the field.”

A 1999 graduate of Florida State with a bachelor’s degree in sport management, Bloomgren earned his master’s degree in higher education from Alabama in 2001. A native of Tallahassee, Fla., Bloomgren and his wife, Lara, have two sons, Tyler and Parker.

Bloomgren replaces David Bailiff, who served as head football coach for 11 years. Bailiff finished his tenure with a 57-80 record, including a 3-1 bowl game record and a Conference USA title in 2013. In both 2008 and 2013, he was named Conference USA Coach of the Year.