Franchise ResourcesNew Team, New Direction, Same Passion - BZ Rice
Michael Rice, was born and raised on the south side of Milwaukee. Known to his friends and family as “BZ,” (pronounced BeZe) a nickname that was given to him as a child by his father. A nickname that has stuck with him to this day.
Football has always been a part of his life, even as a child, where his passion for the sport started. His first years playing organized football started in the seventh grade. After junior high school, he then attended Milwaukee’s South Division High School where his older brother Nick also attended and played football. BZ had some big shoes to fill since he was expected to excel in the sport as did his brother. BZ used those expectations as a motivational tool to work harder each time he hit the field. BZ was crowned first team All-Conference at Defensive Tackle as a junior and first team All-Conference at Center during his senior year.
BZ moved on from high school and attended UW-Oshkosh where he also excelled at football. After that, he found a great job as an electrician, but he felt something was missing in his life - the clash of helmets and shoulder pads, the smell of freshly cut grass, the battles on the gridiron that we call tackle football.
BZ was playing flag football at Soccer USA when he met Timmy Beuth who told him about the Milwaukee Panthers and the IFL. After speaking with Beuth, both BZ and his brother Nick went to try out for the Panthers. He won the position of starting Defensive Tackle and in his first year as a Panther was crowned Champion as they won IronBowl III in 2000.
He played for the Panthers for two more years, then sadly the franchise folded. He went on to play in the WSFL for three years. In his first year playing in the WSFL, he earned All-Star awards at Defensive Tackle. His next move was to own his own franchise. Jonny Bridgewater, Nick Rice, and BZ Rice wanted to bring the Panther franchise back to the IFL. After a promising first year, the Panthers struggled for the next two seasons. BZ talked with his brother and several key players about what direction was best for the franchise players, what was the next step. BZ thought that merging with an area team would be the best move for his players and the IFL.
The majority of the Panther players joined the Milwaukee Venom, a playoff franchise that was on the upswing, but could use some key players and added depth. BZ is the current starting Center for the Milwaukee Venom and was able to retain his coveted number 58. BZ Rice had this to say, “We just felt this was the best place to go and the Venom are very close to a championship. I feel like I’m in a good place here. This team is very underestimated by others in this league, which is ok because I always liked being the underdog. Teams counted us out the first year I was with the Panthers and we ended up winning it all. I feel we can accomplish the same thing here now for the Milwaukee Venom.”
BZ feels privileged to still be able to withstand the physical nature and endure the pounding it takes to play this game. Also, he is glad to be playing with many of his friends. “To me, that’s what the game is about, going out there with your friends and having fun.” BZ has set some goals that he wants to accomplish before he is done with his football career. Some of those include, another IFL championship and to be an IFL All-Star.
One of BZ’s highlights this year was knowing his son Keagan was in attendance at one of his games. “ I know he is young and hopefully I will still be playing when he gets a little older, but that was just an awesome feeling for me. I know he won’t remember it, but I will.”
