The UCLA star sits down with Boardroom to discuss NIL deals, the USC rivalry, grueling Big 10 road trips, and bringing the Bruins their first national title.
As a UCLA athlete in the Big Ten, star point guard Kiki Rice has to endure some of the longest road trips in all of college sports. That included a three-game journey that began with a neutral site game on Martin Luther King Day against Baylor and concluded with conference matchups at Rutgers and Maryland in late January. The Bruins won all three games by double digits; not bad for a trip that even WNBA clubs rarely encounter.
Students aren’t supposed to be away from home for that long multiple times in an academic year. And Rice has had to make up classwork on long flights, grab lecture recordings or notes from classmates and professors, and leave from or arrive in Westwood at hours that aren’t conducive to success on the court or in the classroom. Yet the 21-year-old, 5-foot-11 junior point guard is trying to make the most of her time in college hoops, with the Bruins entering the NCAA Tournament as the top-ranked team in the country at 30-2, with sights on the club’s first-ever national championship.
Part of the team’s mental regimen, Rice told Boardroom, is visualization exercises. Over Zoom, she was asked to close her eyes and think about being on the court in Tampa on April 6 after winning the national championship.
“I’m envisioning confetti, holding the trophy, excitement,” Rice, who recently signed an NIL deal with Intuit TurboTax, which is assisting NIL athletes across the country with their unique tax situations, told Boardroom with a bright smile. “I see the sense of pride in my teammates and coaches. Hopefully we get it done.”
Subscribe for the biggest stories in the business of sports and entertainment, daily.
Rice and her UCLA teammates and coaches have had to lean on each other more this season than any other in her career following the devastating, deadly wildfires that tore through Los Angeles earlier this year. Winning it all, she said, would bring so much happiness and pride to the people of LA.
“Obviously, the fires have been really tough, but we just continue to focus on bringing a smile to people’s faces,” Rice said. “We’ve had a lot of donors and people associated with the program that have lost their homes or lost a lot due to the fires. And they’ve been able to come to our games and tell us how grateful they are for just enjoying the experience of being in this environment.”
That environment has been amplified by its crosstown rivalry with USC, the best rivalry in all of college hoops this year. After the fourth-ranked Trojans won at a sold-out Pauley Pavilion in primetime on March 1 to win the Big Ten regular-season title, UCLA got its revenge eight days later at the conference tournament championship game in Indianapolis. Rice said she can feel the energy in the city, with Angelenos gravitating toward two title contenders within 30 minutes of each other, LA traffic notwithstanding.
“To have a great rivalry in a really important place in the country is something that’s going to continue to grow the sport,” she said. “Every time we play them, we know we’re both going to get up for the game. To see 14,000 people in Pauley, a sold-out arena for a women’s basketball game, is something that none of us take lightly.”
As she juggles her time with basketball and coursework, Rice must also balance a robust NIL portfolio, including deals with Dove, Raising Cane’s, Beats By Dre, StarKist, Neutrogena, Invisalign, and her status as the first-ever Jordan Brand NIL athlete. Rice asks three key questions when considering taking a NIL deal: Is the partnership organic and a product that she either uses or finds value in? Is there potential for a long-term partnership? And would she be working with quality people?
“In this day and age in the NIL world, sometimes you can come across people who are very transactional,” Rice said.
Those are the people she looks to avoid because, frankly, Kiki Rice doesn’t have the time. The biggest challenge in her NIL deals? Finding the time to execute the deals while having a social life as a 21-year-old sports star living in LA.
“I want to enjoy life and not focus too much on these transactional things when there’s also a lot for me to focus on and want to grow in elsewhere,” she continued.
That includes on the court, where she’s surrounded by quality talent like Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and fellow all-conference first-teamer Lauren Betts and versatile forward Gabriella Jacquez. Rice knows this team has the pieces to win it all and the selflessness to sacrifice for the greater good when necessary.
After a season of grueling road trips and unfathomable heartbreak at home, the time is now for Rice and this UCLA team to bring the first women’s hoops title to Westwood. She’s seen it clearly so many times when she closes her eyes. Now, all the Bruins have to do is bring Rice’s vision to fruition.
Read More:
The Afrobeats Takeover: Africa’s Soundtrack Goes Global
Nike and Hyperice Just Dropped the Apple Vision Pro of Recovery Gear
Meet the Man Behind Some of the NBA’s Biggest Changes
Jay Ellis Plays Every Role Like a Team Sport
‘SINNERS’ Marks a Bold New Chapter for Ryan Coogler & Michael B. Jordan
