HOUSTON -- In the past, being one of the closest sports bars to Rice University hasn't meant much to Buffalo Wild Wings, where the 15 television screens typically attract crowds hungry for pro football and basketball, or games played by other major colleges.

For the last few days at the chain's Rice Village location, assistant general manager Catherine Danihy said fans clad in Rice blue have been the ones downing her chicken and beer while watching the Owls win the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

"When (Rice fans) are here, you don't really notice them normally,'' Danihy said Tuesday. "They just really came out in full force and overtook us the last couple of days.''

About 200 Rice fans watched the game on most every screen Monday, jubilantly reacting as the Owls scored early and often, cruising to a 14-2 championship game victory over Stanford. Afterward, fans drove up and down nearby Rice Boulevard honking and cheering.

The party continues Tuesday night as fans welcome home the 91-year-old school's first-ever national sports champions. An 8 p.m. CDT celebration was planned at Reckling Park, the team's baseball diamond.

The inaugural NCAA title didn't come for lack of trying. Rice was chartered by Houston multimillionaire William Marsh Rice in 1891, though its construction was delayed by legal fights after his New York City murder in 1900.

Finally in 1912 the school opened after William Rice confidant Capt. James A. Baker -- grandfather of eventual Secretary of State James A. Baker III -- shepherded the estate and fulfilled the philanthropist's dream of building an academically renowned college in Houston.

Rice began big-time athletic participation in 1914 as a charter member of the Southwest Conference, and in the league's early decades the Owls were consistently competitive in many sports. Gradually, the SWC's larger state-supported rivals began to dominate athletically, and the league disbanded in 1996 with Rice as its final baseball champion.

As for Danihy's sports bar, she expects Rice athletics to fade into the background as usual this fall as fans of the NFL, NBA and Big 12 dominate her tables again. But she was appreciative for the bump this weekend during what typically is a slow time.

"The fans were just fantastic,'' she said.