Dec. 2, 2004
Dear Ian,
It seemed like the crowds at Floyd Casey Stadium this year were better than in past seasons. Were you happy with the attendance at Baylor football games this year?
Paul
McGregor, Texas
Paul,
We were pleased with both the attendance and atmosphere at our home football games this season.
Baylor averaged 30,586 fans for six home games, its highest mark since a 30,601 average in 2001 and only the second time in the past six seasons it has averaged more than 30,000 fans over its home schedule. The Bears' 2004 average was an increase of 735 fans per game over their 2003 average. We were also encouraged by student attendance increasing to 4,619 per game up from 3,924 last year.
Volleyball and soccer attendance were also up. The volleyball team averaged 543 per game which nearly doubled last year's average attendance of 273. The soccer team averaged 475 per game up from 332 the previous year. Both of these young teams look to be improved next season and we project even greater growth.
Ian
Ian, Is there some type of policy regarding the scheduling of games in the Big 12, particularly football, basketball and baseball?
It seems that the schedule changes every year and I am wondering why?
Particularly puzzling is our Lady Bear basketball team playing Texas twice in the first five conference games this year and Texas A&M twice in the first six. Why does such imbalance occur?
Dan Jensen
Claremore, Okla.
Dan,
Thank you for the excellent question.
The Big 12 does rotate schedules in all sports for a variety of reasons including competitive equity, balancing home and road games and offering variety from year to year. Each sport has pre-determined scheduling parameters that are built into a computer generated model that in turn produces the conference schedule for each sport. In addition, television plays a role in the process, too, especially with regard to the men's and women's basketball schedules since they have to be built around Big Monday games, building conflicts and the like.
This is a highly complicated process that is very well administered by the Big 12 in my view.
Ian
Ian, Not being able to attend all Baylor football games I find myself listening to most Baylor games on the radio. J.J. Joe was a great addition this year! I do think it is time for Baylor to upgrade the production value of it's radio broadcast. The intro/outro production music is outdated. I do not fault your broadcast team, but are there plans being made to up the production quality?
Philip Warner
Dallas, Texas
Philip,
Thank you for the comments regarding our football radio broadcasts. I agree that J.J. Joe was a very positive addition to the broadcast team this year and we have received positive feedback about the broadcasts.
Your comments about the music used in the open and close warrant consideration and I will ask our staff to look into it.
I appreciate your interest and support!
Ian
Ian, I subscribe to XM satellite radio and they recently signed deals with the Big 10, Pac 10 and the ACC to broadcast all football and men's and women's basketball games for every school in those conferences. This is a great feature as I do a lot of driving and enjoy listening to games. Now, the only thing that could make this feature better is if the big 12 got on board and I could listen to my Bears on coast to coast radio. I also think that that would be a good thing for our conference and our university. As far as you know are there any talks going on about the possibility for a conference deal with one of the satellite radio companies?
Trent Collier
Corpus Christi, Texas
Editor's Note: Similar questions were received by Brian Blackstock (Houston, Texas) and Ben Meek (Oklahoma City)
Trent,
Thank you for another good question.
The Big 12 voted as a conference to allow each institution to retain its own satellite radio rights as opposed to negotiate a conference-wide relationship. With that, we are in the process of exploring satellite radio opportunities for Baylor and working with one of our current media partners to that end.
We are excited about the prospect of making Baylor athletic events available to our fans throughout the country and internationally via satellite radio in the future.
Ian
Ian, Not so much a question as a request. I am a big Lady Bears fan, season ticket holder and Tip Off Club member. I love wearing gold to support the Lady Bears.
That said, can we get some more Lady Bear Basketball merchandise? I would love a shirt that is cut for a lady (i.e. tapering at the waist and a shorter tail). When we made the trek to Oklahoma for the NCAA Tournament, we saw some Vanderbilt fans in bowling shirts. That type of shirt has a leaner line, too. Mardi-Gras beads and other festive gear would be great as well.
Thank you!
Jennifer German
Waco, Texas
Jennifer,
Thank you for the comment.
We are fortunate to have a Top 10 women's basketball program thanks to the outstanding efforts of Coach Mulkey-Robertson, her staff and student-athletes. With that, demand for tickets, booster support and interest in merchandise has increased correspondingly. We have been in contact with the university bookstore about expanding our menu of Lady Bear basketball apparel and look forward to offering fans more selection in the near term.
We appreciate your support of the Lady Bears!
Ian
Ian, A friend told me that he purchased a game ball and helmet from the BU athletic department several years ago. Do you still do that? Is it possible to purchase any of the game-issued equipment after the season?
Thanks!
Ross McClure
Round Rock, Texas
Ross,
Thank you for the e-mail.
We have instituted what has become a very popular on-line auction at BaylorBears.com that offers fans the opportunity to purchase premium items including game-worn jerseys, autographed balls and pennants. We intend to expand these offerings in the future to include special items and apparel from a number of different sports. I expect that autographed game balls and helmets will be among the items available.
Ian
Ian, Is there a website or any contact information about trying out for Cheerleader at Baylor University?
Londi Burchell
Abilene, Texas
Editor's Note: Similar questions were received from Stephanie Opusunju (Richmond, Texas), Sarah Saenz (San Antonio, Texas), Kristin Scarbrough (Allen, Texas)
Londi,
I appreciate your e-mail and interest in participating as a cheerleader at Baylor.
Our athletic teams receive incredible support from our spirit squads and bands during the course of the year and our staff, coaches and student-athletes are grateful for their dedication to Baylor teams.
You can learn more about participating on a spirit squad by going to www.baylor.edu/campusrec or calling campus recreation at 254-710-7542.
Ian
Ian, Why have the chats with the various coaches been discontinued? They were always very interesting and informative.
Thomas
Abilene, Texas
Thomas,
Thank you for the question about chats on BaylorBears.com.
We typically hold chats with coaches either before or after their respective competitive season due to the time constraints that they face. With that, our media relations staff is planning upcoming chats with Guy Morriss in the near future and I'm trying to fit one in soon, too. I agree that these chats are interesting for fans and have been well received.
We appreciate your support.
Ian
Final Thoughts
We have recently been informed that Baylor will be a site for a 2005 FCA Camp, May 30 through June 3. We are planning on at least 250 participants for the event which will include the sports of men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, football, softball, baseball, men's and women's soccer, as well as coed tennis. This will be a tremendous opportunity for the University to showcase its facilities to an outstanding group of young men and women.
