Paul Rice enters his 10^th season as head coach for Oakland’s men’s and women’s cross country programs.  This past summer Rice was named the first full-time coach in the program’s history as well as taking on head coaching duties for the new men’s and women’s track teams.

Under Rice’s guidance Golden Grizzly cross country has become one of the premier programs in the Mid-Con, producing 33 all-conference runners, three runners of the year, two newcomers of the year and two Mid-Con championships in just seven seasons.  Rice has earned Mid-Con Coach of the Year accolades three times. 

Last season Rice led the men’s team to its second Mid-Con championship in four years as Oakland placed all five of its scoring runners in the top 15 to compile 38 points, edging Southern Utah (42) for the title.  The Golden Grizzlies were paced by Mid-Con Runner of the Year Adam Frezza who won the event.  Four runners earned all-conference honors: Frezza and Paul Kulisek were named to the first team while Andrew Lawrick and Jason Young were second-team selections.  The team also earned its first-ever regional ranking when it was 14^th in the United States Cross Country Association Great Lakes Region poll.

Another successful season, 2003 saw both the men’s and women’s teams place second at the Mid-Con championships. The women were led by two-time Mid-Con Runner of the Year Kristie Kieffer (2003, 2000), who became the first Golden Grizzly runner to qualify for the NCAA championships since Oakland joined Division I when she placed 13^th at the NCAA regional.

In 2002 Rice and the Golden Grizzly men captured their first Mid-Con championship, breaking Southern Utah’s streak of five straight titles.  A record six runners earned all-conference recognition on the men’s side while the women placed two on the all-conference team and had the newcomer of the year in Sarah Drouillard.  Rice was named Mid-Con Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Rice took the helm in 1997 after serving one year as Oakland’s assistant coach.  He graduated from OU in 1997 with a BA in general studies/human resources.  Rice ran cross country at Oakland from 1990-93 and was a three-year captain, earning all-conference honors 1991 and 1992, as well as all-region recognition in 1991.