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Veteran head basketball coach and basketball commentator Mike Rice is in his 14th season as analyst on Trail Blazers radio broadcasts.

Rice was an honorable mention All-America selection at Duquesne as a senior, when he led the Dukes to a third-place national ranking and an NIT invitation. Selected in the eighth round of the 1962 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, Rice opted instead to pursue a career in coaching. After posting a 245-71 record (.773) in 13 years at the high school level, Rice entered the college ranks in 1977 as an assistant coach at his alma mater.

After being named head coach of the Dukes the next year, he guided them to a 62-49 (.559) record from 1978-1982. Rice went on to Youngstown State in 1982 after leading Duquesne to two NIT appearances and twice-earning Eastern Eight “Coach of the Year” honors. During his five-year tenure at Youngstown State, the Penguins recorded one 20-win season and two second-place finishes in the Ohio Valley Conference.Twice his teams reached the title game in the OVC tournament

Rice moved to the broadcast booth in 1987 as a college basketball analyst for ESPN. A regular on ESPN’s “Big Monday” lineup, he provided commentary for the games in the Big West as the primary analyst for the Western Athletic Conference. Rice has also worked women’s NCAA regional championship games, the Division II national championship game and high school all-star games. In 1989, he added broadcast duties with SportsChannel America as the primary analyst on its World Basketball League broadcasts. The WBL was familiar territory for Rice, who joined the Youngstown Pride in 1987 first as head coach, and later as director of basketball operations.

His wife Kathy is a former Duquesne Duchess basketball player. The couple has two daughters, Susan and Stephanie, both graduates of Syracuse University where they played tennis and one son, Mike, who played basketball at Fordham University. In his free time, Rice enjoys hustling on the tennis court and golf course.


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