UK WBB: Rice Named SEC Women’s Basketball L eadership Council Vice Chair

University of Kentucky women’s basketball junior Alyssa Rice has been elected by her peers in the league as vice chair of the Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball Leadership Council, it was announced Tuesday by the league office.
“I am honored to have been named vice chair of the SEC Women’s Basketball Leadership Council,” Rice said. “I am blessed to have been given this opportunity and look forward to working with this great group of young women to help continue to improve the overall student-athlete experience. After just one meeting, I am truly excited to see what the future holds for this group and the SEC.”
Rice was selected by a vote of her peers at a meeting of the SEC Basketball Leadership Council in Birmingham earlier this month. Vanderbilt’s Marqu’es Webb was selected as the chair of the council. Rice’s responsibilities as vice chair will including participation in four conference calls with the league office during the year, attending a portion of the Senior Women’s Administrator’s meeting during the 2017 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament and potentially attending the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla., this summer.
“What an incredible honor for Alyssa to be named by her peers as vice chair of the SEC Basketball Leadership Council,” UK head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “Alyssa works incredibly hard on and off the court and is a perfect example of the model student we look for at Kentucky. I have total confidence that she will represent our league and our university exceptionally well.”
Earlier this year, the SEC introduced new Student-Athlete Leadership Councils in the sports of football and men’s and women’s basketball in which, in addition to the conference’s longstanding Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), provide student-athletes with additional opportunities to engage with campus leaders and conference office staff. The men’s and women’s basketball first council meeting was held earlier this month with one female and one male representative of each school present.
“The basketball council representatives voted four outstanding individuals to represent them as chair and vice chair of their councils,” said Misty Brown, the SEC’s Director of Student-Athlete Engagement. “These individuals showed outstanding leadership capabilities and great passion for leading their peers on issues related to the sport they play. I’m excited to work with them throughout the legislative process while continuing to help cultivate the leadership skills they possess.”
Rice has been successful on and off the court for Kentucky as a two-year member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. The native of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, has played in 60 career games with 13 starts. Last season, Rice missed a majority of the non-conference schedule with an injury, but returned to action and played great in the SEC Tournament with nine points and five rebounds against LSU in the second round, before eight points and nine rebounds against Florida in the quarterfinals.
Off the court, Rice has been active in the Lexington community most recently sorting food at God’s Pantry Food Bank, helping with the Louisiana flood relief drive and visiting patients at UK’s Markey Cancer Center. Rice has also volunteered at One Parent Scholar Home and spent time with patients at Richmond Place nursing home.
Kentucky will begin the 2016-17 season on Nov. 11 against Miami (Fla.) at 7 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum. Fans can reserve their seats to see the Wildcats play an exciting 18-game home schedule by purchasing season tickets for $65 online at ukathletics.com/tickets or by calling the UK Ticket Office at (859) 257-1818 or (800) 928-2287. Seats will be assigned in September after the season ticket renewal deadline. All single-game tickets will go on sale Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 9 a.m. ET through ticketmaster.com.
by Evan Crane