Rick E. Carter (July 1, 1943 – February 2, 1986) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana (1966–1971), Hanover College (1972–1976), the University of Dayton (1977–1980), and the College of the Holy Cross (1981–1985), compiling a career college football coaching record of 137–58–7. His 1980 Dayton Flyers won the NCAA Division III Football Championship after a 14–0 season and a 63–0 victory over Ithaca in the title game. He was named the AFCA College Division Coach of the Year in 1980.

Carter committed suicide after the 1985 season at the age of 42. He had been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment of depression. His father had died of cancer the previous August and his mother was terminally ill but friends claimed he was also upset about his lack of career advancement. In previous years Carter had been offered jobs at several major programs, but Holy Cross would not release him from his contract and those offers had stopped coming.