Rice back at Babson to lead men's hockey
WELLESLEY -- Newton native Jamie Rice has been named the new head men's ice hockey coach at Babson College.
A 1990 graduate of Babson, Rice returns to his alma mater after spending 14 years as an assistant coach at Colby College, Dartmouth College, Brown University, and, most recently, Northeastern University. During his five years at Brown, he helped guide the Bears to a 1993 NCAA Tournament appearance and a 1995 Ivy League Championship.
''Now I'm getting to do what I love, at a place I love," Rice said. ''It was a job I never thought would be open and it took me about eight seconds to accept it. "
Rice takes over a team that went 17-10-1 and came within one goal of defeating nationally ranked Norwich in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (East) championship game this past winter. He succeeds fellow alumnus Paul Donato, who retired after 11 seasons as head coach.
''Paul was the head baseball coach and assistant hockey coach at Babson when I played there, and he was a big influence in talking up coaching as a career. And he also helped me get my start as an assistant when he recommended me for the Colby job," said Rice, who was an outstanding athlete at the Rivers School in Weston. Rice had been at Northeastern for five seasons, coaching the defensemen and serving as recruiting coordinator.
''We are extremely excited about Jamie's return to Babson," said athletic director Frank Millerick. ''He was a tremendous talent as a player, and has continued to excel as a coach since his graduation."
Rice played forward for Babson from 1986 to 1990, helping the Beavers post an 81-31-10 record. He had 24 goals and 55 assists in 116 career games, including a career-high 32 points in 1988-89. He had two goals his sophomore year in a 5-2 victory over Plattsburgh State in the NCAA Division 3 quarterfinals.
Also a pitcher and team captain on the Babson baseball team, Rice said he thought about heading into coaching as early as his junior year at college.
Rice, who attended Hotchkiss School as a postgraduate, has coached in the USA Hockey/Massachusetts Satellite Program, most recently as head coach of the Massachusetts Select 16 Team. He has also served as a coach and on-ice director at numerous camps and clinics and is a lecturer for USA Hockey's Coaching Education Program.
''I'm the only hockey player in a family of basketball players," said Rice, whose father, Frank, was a basketball player at Newton High and whose sister, Laura, was a three-sport athlete at Newton North High. ''My dad coached me in Little League, and I don't think my folks missed two games of mine from youth sports days right through my coaching career."
A football quarterback, hockey winger, and baseball pitcher at Rivers, Rice was All-Independent School League in all three sports and was awarded the school's Athletic Prize as its outstanding senior athlete.
Rice, who earned his master's degree in education from Boston University in 1998, now resides in Reading with his wife, Stephanie, and 2-year-old son, Mark, who was named for former BU player and Los Angeles Kings scout Mark Bavis, who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
''Mark would have been our son's godfather. We worked together at Brown in 1996," Rice said. ''We were very close, the best of friends."
