Stanford to open 2017 football season against Rice in Australia

Stanford will open the 2017 season against Rice in Sydney, a Cardinal spokesman confirmed Sunday.

The Stanford men’s basketball team opened this season with a victory over Harvard in Shanghai.

Stanford (9-3) played Rice (3-9) in this year’s regular-season finale, with the Cardinal winning 41-17 at Stanford Stadium.

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.