Willard Rice

Willard Rice was a standout football player at Kokomo High School from 1964-1966 and Ball State University from 1968-1970 before hanging up the cleats for a coach’s whistle.

While Kokomo’s quarterback, Rice amassed 2,400 yards through the air, which still ranked fifth-best in school history upon his induction. He threw for more than 1,000 yards as a junior and recorded Kokomo’s first-ever 300-yard, five-touchdown passing game during his senior season. Rice helped lead the Kats to a perfect 10-0 season in 1964 and was the first Wildkat football player to earn Indiana All-Star honors his senior season.

At Ball State, Rice accounted for 4,403 total yards of offense in three seasons, which was still ninth-best in school history at the time of his induction. In his record-setting career, he had 25 touchdown passes and 3,710 passing yards.

After graduation, Rice spent 17 seasons coaching Eastern High School to a record of 88-82 from 1972-1988. He returned to his alma mater and led the Wildkats from 1991-2003, retiring with a 68-62 record and three North Central Conference championships over a 13-season KHS coaching career.