Aug. 28, 2000

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

BAYLOR at NORTH TEXAS
Fouts Field (30,500)
Denton, Texas
Thursday, Aug. 31, 2000 . 7:00 p.m. (CDT)

The Skinny
Baylor (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) opens the 2000 season, its 99th all-time, by traveling to Denton to take on North Texas (0-0, 0-0 Big West) at Fouts Field (30,500). The Bears begin the campaign with three-consecutive games against non-conference opponents.

Coaches
Kevin Steele (Tennessee, 1981) is 1-10 entering his second season at Baylor. He is 1-0 against North Texas.

North Texas' Darrell Dickey (Kansas State, 1984) is 5-17 in his third season as the Mean Green's head coach. He is 0-1 against Baylor.

Series
Baylor leads the all-time series, which began in 1922, 10-0. The Bears' 23-10 win last season was their first meeting with North Texas since 1982. All 10 games have occurred in Waco.

Baylor In Season Openers
Entering its 99th season of football, Baylor is 63-30-5 in previous season openers. The Bears have lost their last three season openers.

August Openers
Baylor is 0-1 all-time in August, losing its season opener to Miami (Fla.), 45-14, on Aug. 30, 1997.

Baylor vs. the Big West
Baylor is 13-0 all-time against current members of the Big West Conference. The Bears are 10-0 against North Texas and 3-0 versus Utah State.

Bears Look For Road Win
Baylor travels to Denton seeking its first road win since defeating Fresno State, 37-35, on Sept. 6, 1997. The Bears have dropped 16-straight road games.

Baylor On Artificial Turf
The North Texas game is Baylor's 275th all-time on artificial turf. The Bears own a 136-132-6 all-time record on artificial surfaces, which includes an 84-51-4 home record from 1972-97. Baylor has lost its last seven games on fake grass.

Bear Captains Named
A trio of seniors, CB Daniel Wilturner, LB Kris Micheaux and TB Darrell Bush, were selected by teammates as captains for the 2000 season.

Bears Face Tough Schedule
Five of Baylor's 11 2000 opponents (Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Nebraska) participated in bowl games last season, while seven of them posted winning records (including Texas Tech and South Florida). The Bears' opponents have won nearly 58 percent of their games, combining for a record of 62-45.

Baxter Makes Thorpe List
Senior CB Gary Baxter, the top NFL prospect at his position according to some sources, is one of five Big 12 players on the 40-man, preseason Thorpe Award "watch list."

The Thorpe Award is given annually to the nation's most outstanding defensive back. Baylor's Everett Thomas won the inaugural Thorpe Award in 1986.

Baxter, along with fellow Bear corner Daniel Wilturner, is another in Baylor's long list of outstanding defensive backs. The Bears have sent 21 DBs into the NFL.

Bears Close in on Win No. 500
Baylor needs 10 more wins to join the 500-win club all-time. The Bears are 490-448-44 since beginning football play in 1899. Entering the 2000 season, 47 schools have reached the 500-win plateau.

Bear Penalties Way Down in '99
One sign of the discipline Kevin Steele has brought to the Bear football program is the low penalty numbers. Baylor finished 1999 with its lowest penalty totals in nearly 30 years.

The Bears were flagged 57 times for 492 yards last season. It was fewest number of Bear penalties since committing 53 in 1973, and the fewest yards penalized since 1972 (472).

Last year was also the first since 1988 (67) that Baylor has held its season penalty total under 70.

Baylor was penalized four times or less in six of its 11 games in 1999.

"Green-to-Gold" Defense
Baylor coach Kevin Steele began a program last season to give his defensive players added incentive to perform on a daily basis. The system, which Steele calls "Green-to-Gold", puts the most productive defenders in special practice jerseys which can be awarded or taken away at any moment as performance dictates.

Steele, who was an assistant at Nebraska for six seasons, based the concept on the Cornhuskers' Blackshirts defense. The jerseys are green around the torso with gold shoulders and sleeves.

Bush Climbing Career Charts
Senior TB Darrell Bush, who finished 10th in the Big 12 a year ago with 61.9 ypg, enters his final Bear campaign ranked eighth in career rushing yardage (1,732), ninth in career attempts (370), fifth in yards per game (59.7) and sixth in yards per carry (4.7).

Bush needs 19 attempts to move past Larry Hickman (388, 1956-58) into eighth on the career carry list and 124 yards to pass Robert Strait (1,856, 1990-93) for seventh on the yardage chart.

BU Staff Returns Intact
For the first time in 11 years, Baylor returns its entire coaching staff intact. The legendary Grant Teaff was the last Bear head coach to keep the same staff in place for consecutive seasons.

Baylor Through the Years
Baylor is 490-448-44 since beginning football play in 1899 ... Baylor has had winning seasons in nine of the last 15 campaigns ... The school record for wins came in 1980 when the conference champion Bears won 10 games ... Baylor has 16 seasons of eight-or-more wins and five of nine-or-more victories ... The Bears' last eight-win season came in 1991 and the last nine-win mark in 1986.

Multi-Sport Bears
Baylor's Kevin Steele believes strongly in recruiting multi-sport athletes. On the current Bear roster, wide receivers Martin Dossett and Randy Davis are members of the Baylor track squad, while true freshman wideout Robert Quiroga is a member of the AAU 1,600-meter national champion relay team.

Academic Power
For the fourth time in five years, the American Football Coaches Association recognized Baylor for producing one of the top football teams in America in terms of academic performance. The Bears were one of 25 schools nationally - and the only one in the Big 12 Conference - to receive the AFCA's award for graduating over 70 percent of its players.

Baylor Football on the Air
The Baylor Radio Network provides Bear broadcasts to 20 stations throughout the state of Texas. The network consists of the following affiliates:

BAYLOR RADIO NETWORK AFFILIATES

Baylor Games on the Internet
The radio call from all of Baylor's games can be heard live on the internet on Baylor's official online website, www.GoBaylorBears.com, or at www.yahoo.broadcast.com.

GoBaylorBears.com also offers real-time game coverage of all Bear home football games.

Inside BU Sports TV Show
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, will air weekly throughout Central Texas and other regional outlets. The program, hosted by John Morris, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox SportsNet Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18).

KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays while Fox shows it at 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays.