University of Memphis Athletics
Where Are They Now: Rick Rivas
Dec 26, 2019 | Football
Rivas caught the game-winning TD in victory over Auburn at the Liberty Bowl.
NOTE: This Where Are They Now feature on Rick Rivas first appeared in the Memphis GameDay program Nov. 2 when the Tigers hosted SMU.
Rick Rivas played in the National Football League, where he once returned a punt for a touchdown as a member of the New Orleans Saints. In the Canadian Football League, Rivas was a teammate of Dieter Brock, one of the most prolific quarterbacks in CFL history.
Yet, what he cherishes most at his home in Tampa, Fla., is a football from his playing days at then-Memphis State University where, in 1976, he caught the winning touchdown in a 28-27 Homecoming victory over Auburn.
Rivas' 30-yard reception from Lloyd Patterson in the fourth quarter was another in a series of big plays during the first of his two seasons. In the season opener, Rivas, a transfer from the University of Tampa (which had dropped its program), caught a 55-yard touchdown pass in an upset of Ole Miss. Before his heroics against Auburn, he had 60-yard scores in successive weeks against Tulsa and SMU.
Still, the Auburn game is a highlight in his Memphis career, a clutch play made before more than 48,000 fans in what was then a 50,000-seat Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
"It was a wheel route," said Rivas, a retired Vice President and Director of Digital Imaging at Eastman Kodak. "Keith Wright was supposed to be (the inside receiver) and I was supposed to be on the outside, but I think Keith was hurt."
So Rivas slid over to Wright's spot and "went up, out and up; it was like a fake route to the outside and then shooting up the sideline."
Rivas said Patterson dropped a perfect pass in his arms.
"That was one of the most memorable moments I had at Memphis," said Rivas, who remains in the record books by averaging 20.3 yards per catch during the 1976 season, the eighth-highest single-season average. "It was one of those victories you cherish quite a bit."
Rivas has three footballs in his home of game-winning touchdowns he scored in his career, but the one from Oct. 9, 1976 commands loftier status. He said the football was presented to him in the Tigers' locker room by head coach Richard Williamson after the game.
"We ran that play several times during the year," Rivas said. "We were very successful with it."
Rivas finished the 1976 season as the team leader in touchdown receptions (6), while tying future NFL receiver Earnest Gray with the most receiving yards (529). Rivas also led the team in kick-return yardage (406).
It was, Rivas said, a difficult transition from Tampa to Memphis, where he wasn't initially welcomed by his teammates. But he stayed and built memories while helping the Tigers to several memorable victories.
"When I got there, Memphis was on the rise," Rivas said. "We had some pretty good football players. But I was the transplant. Tampa had dropped its program and I had to find another home."
Rivas had two successful seasons at Memphis before beginning a brief pro career. After hanging up his cleats, Rivas enjoyed a lengthy run with Eastman Kodak, a job that allowed him to watch his son, Garrett, play college football in the Big Ten.
His son, Garrett, an academic dean at Berkeley Prep in Tampa, still holds several scoring records at the University of Michigan, where he was a placekicker.
"He did very well," Rick said. "I'm proud of him."
Garrett, a three-time All-Big Ten Conference selection, held multiple Michigan scoring records when he completed his career and says his father was, and remains, an influence.
What he learned from his father was a "hunger to be great, a never-quit mentality and work ethic."
"He instilled these things in my brother (Ryan) and I from our early years," Garrett said. "Above all else, my father walked the walk of being confident, but (was) never cocky. If you are good enough, others will tell your story for you."
Rick Rivas played in the National Football League, where he once returned a punt for a touchdown as a member of the New Orleans Saints. In the Canadian Football League, Rivas was a teammate of Dieter Brock, one of the most prolific quarterbacks in CFL history.
Yet, what he cherishes most at his home in Tampa, Fla., is a football from his playing days at then-Memphis State University where, in 1976, he caught the winning touchdown in a 28-27 Homecoming victory over Auburn.
Rivas' 30-yard reception from Lloyd Patterson in the fourth quarter was another in a series of big plays during the first of his two seasons. In the season opener, Rivas, a transfer from the University of Tampa (which had dropped its program), caught a 55-yard touchdown pass in an upset of Ole Miss. Before his heroics against Auburn, he had 60-yard scores in successive weeks against Tulsa and SMU.
Still, the Auburn game is a highlight in his Memphis career, a clutch play made before more than 48,000 fans in what was then a 50,000-seat Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
"It was a wheel route," said Rivas, a retired Vice President and Director of Digital Imaging at Eastman Kodak. "Keith Wright was supposed to be (the inside receiver) and I was supposed to be on the outside, but I think Keith was hurt."
So Rivas slid over to Wright's spot and "went up, out and up; it was like a fake route to the outside and then shooting up the sideline."
Rivas said Patterson dropped a perfect pass in his arms.
"That was one of the most memorable moments I had at Memphis," said Rivas, who remains in the record books by averaging 20.3 yards per catch during the 1976 season, the eighth-highest single-season average. "It was one of those victories you cherish quite a bit."
Rivas has three footballs in his home of game-winning touchdowns he scored in his career, but the one from Oct. 9, 1976 commands loftier status. He said the football was presented to him in the Tigers' locker room by head coach Richard Williamson after the game.
"We ran that play several times during the year," Rivas said. "We were very successful with it."
Rivas finished the 1976 season as the team leader in touchdown receptions (6), while tying future NFL receiver Earnest Gray with the most receiving yards (529). Rivas also led the team in kick-return yardage (406).
It was, Rivas said, a difficult transition from Tampa to Memphis, where he wasn't initially welcomed by his teammates. But he stayed and built memories while helping the Tigers to several memorable victories.
"When I got there, Memphis was on the rise," Rivas said. "We had some pretty good football players. But I was the transplant. Tampa had dropped its program and I had to find another home."
Rivas had two successful seasons at Memphis before beginning a brief pro career. After hanging up his cleats, Rivas enjoyed a lengthy run with Eastman Kodak, a job that allowed him to watch his son, Garrett, play college football in the Big Ten.
His son, Garrett, an academic dean at Berkeley Prep in Tampa, still holds several scoring records at the University of Michigan, where he was a placekicker.
"He did very well," Rick said. "I'm proud of him."
Garrett, a three-time All-Big Ten Conference selection, held multiple Michigan scoring records when he completed his career and says his father was, and remains, an influence.
What he learned from his father was a "hunger to be great, a never-quit mentality and work ethic."
"He instilled these things in my brother (Ryan) and I from our early years," Garrett said. "Above all else, my father walked the walk of being confident, but (was) never cocky. If you are good enough, others will tell your story for you."
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