UK
Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart has the following comment on the passing of
Hall of Famer Russell Rice.  Rice’s bio is listed below.

“I speak on behalf of the entire UK family when I say how saddened I am to
hear of the passing of Hall of Famer Russell Rice. No one knew more about our
history than Russell and his legacy lives on. We offer our sincerest
condolences to his family.”

Russell Rice (1967-87) is a former UK Athletics administrator who was
associated with UK Athletics for more than a half-century. Rice spent 20 years
on the UK staff from 1967 to 1987, including 18 as a sports information
director. He wrote several books chronicling the history of Wildcat men’s
basketball and football programs and served as media coordinator for several
NCAA men’s basketball tournaments hosted by UK. Rice was also a president of
the SEC Sports Information Directors Association. For more than 20 years since
his retirement from UK, Rice has written a weekly column for The Cats’ Pause
magazine and has been a historical resource for UK Athletics. A World War II
veteran (U.S. Marines) and a UK graduate, Rice spent 16 years in the media
after graduation, including five years as sports editor of the Lexington
Leader, before joining the UK staff.