 | | Director of athletics Ian McCaw will stop by for a live chat on Monday, July 12 |
Ian McCaw took over as Baylor's ninth director of athletics in September of last year. He came to Baylor from the University of Massachusetts, where he spent the previous year in the same position. McCaw was responsible for a 23-sport program and helped develop and implement a five-year strategic plan for UMass athletics aimed at enhancing equity, diversity, compliance and facility improvements. McCaw came to UMass from Northeastern University, where he served as director of intercollegiate athletics and campus recreation from 1997-2002. During his five years at Northeastern, the athletic department benefited from McCaw's reorganization and the recruitment of several new key members to the Huskies' staff. McCaw went to Northeastern from Tulane University, where he served as senior associate athletic director for development and associate athletic director for external affairs from 1992-1997, being named Tulane's co-interim director of athletics in 1996. Prior to his years at Tulane, McCaw worked with virtually every aspect of athletic administration at the University of Maine from 1986 to 1992. He progressed to the roles of assistant sports information director (1986-1987), sports information director (1988-1990), assistant athletic director for external affairs (1990-1991) and associate athletic director for external affairs (1991-1992). |
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 |  | Ian McCaw: Thank you for joining us for this morning chat! |
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| Josh(Waco): I know you have mentioned making upgrades to Floyd Casey Stadium before, and if so, does that include making "legitimate parking lots?" I am a student here at Baylor and I am often embarrassed that our parking lots are grass. In addition to this, will there be any ATM machines added to the stadium? I appreciate your hard work and respect your professionalism! |
| | Ian McCaw: Josh, Thanks for the lead-off question this morning. We have made several upgrades at FCS during the off-season including adding the new synthetic surface and paving of both roadways and parking areas. We do not have any ATM machines at the stadium, however, I will pass that thought onto our marketing staff. I appreciate the kind words! |
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| shoes (waco): With the mens basketball team only having one player (Tommy Swanson) who had significant play time last season can we expect to see the team pose a challenge this season with so much inexperience? |
| | Ian McCaw: Shoes, The 2004-05 version of Baylor men's basketball will be young and exciting! There will be at least six first-year players on Coach Drew's roster and a great deal of talent. Hoopscoop recently ranked our incoming recruiting class sixth in the nation. Coach Drew found a way to get last year's team to compete at a high level night in and night out, and we look forward to more of the same this season. Be sure to come to the Ferrell Center and be a part of what is sure to be an exciting season. |
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| Steve (San Jose, CA): Hi Ian, Could you please give three or four key indicators that you are looking for that will indicate that Baylor atheletics has reached the "next level" in success? What key success factors are you looking for the most? (e.g. seems like national championship titles are getting us closer to the next level). Thanks... |
| | Ian McCaw: Steve, Great question. We witnessed a number of these indicators this year. Winning a national championship in men's tennis along with five individual NCAA championships are signals that Baylor is competing effectively against the very best teams and student-athletes in the nation. We also value our NCAA Directors Cup ranking (47th in 2004) and hope to improve upon it in future years. This season, we had 10 teams advance to NCAA post-season competition and look forward to building upon this success. Clearly, the two major goals that remain are for football and men's basketball to advance to post-season play. We look forward to both of these goals being reached very shortly under the leadership of Coach Morriss and Coach Drew. |
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| Duffman, Springfield: Hi Ian. First off, I just want to let you know that we all recognize and appreciate the fine work you're doing. It's been quite nice as fans to be asked our opinions on various issues and to also finally start seeing some quality (Nike) Baylor merchandise show up somewhere other than the bookstore. That said, my question is regarding football games on TV. ESPN Gameplan has long been a favorite viewing option for college football fans, especially those who don't live near their favorite team. I've ordered Gameplan for several years, and hope that we'll start seeing some Baylor games offered in this package on a week to week basis in the future. |
| | Ian McCaw: Duffman, Thank you for your question. Television opportunities go hand-in-hand with competitive success in college football. As our team achieves greater success under Coach Morriss, we will be afforded additional regional and national television exposure. I have been encouraged by what we have seen in the football program during the off-season and spring workouts. Moreover, word around the Big 12 is that Baylor football is on its way back. With that, you will have the opportunity to watch more Baylor football on television in the years to come! |
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| Brandon Boyd, Waco,TX: Ian you and your staff have done such a great job so far. Thanks for all your hard work. I was wondering as a student is there any way that I can get tickets to the UAB game? Some friends and I would like to take a road trip out there and see the Bears beat UAB this year. |
| | Ian McCaw: Brandon, Thank you for the question. There is great anticipation growing for the 2004 football season, and the UAB game is critical. Season tickets and individual game tickets are available through the Baylor ticket office by calling 710-1000. We appreciate your support! |
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| Daniel - Waco: It is my belief that the citizens of Waco have the potential to become an energetic fan-base for Baylor. It seems to me that, in the past few years, Baylor has not taken advantage of the potential supporters right here in our backyard. What can we as the Baylor community and you as athletic director do to draw in the people of Waco? It seems to me that this could be a very postive relationship for Waco as well as Baylor. |
| | Ian McCaw: Daniel, We have tremendous fans in the Waco area and appreciate their support of Baylor Athletics. We are working on a series of grass roots marketing and ticket sales efforts designed to appeal to Baylor fans and members of the community. We are working with community groups and organizations, businesses for corporate ticket purchases and our Bear Force One program headed up by DeeAnn Smith. In addition, we have a number of special promotional events designed to attract fans. Baylor and Waco have a vital partnership wherein when one thrives, so does the other. The ecomonic impact study that we conducted earlier this year suggests that Baylor Athletics contributes over $101 million per year to the local economy. In turn, when businesses and citizens of Waco support the athletic program, it positively impacts our community. |
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| Joseph (Waco): The "night" football games are a great idea. I know the Big XII has television contracts, but has any thought been given to moving non-televised Big XII games to evening start times? |
| | Ian McCaw: Joseph, Night games are very attractive especially early in the season when temperature is a factor. The first two home games (versus Texas State and North Texas) will kickoff at 6:00 p.m. We will not have definite starting times for the remaining home games due to Fox Sports holding the rights to Big 12 football. |
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| Austin (Waco): Can we get an update on the indoor practice facilities? |
| | Ian McCaw: Austin, We are in the final stages of completing Baylor's athletic strategic plan. Within this plan, we have developed an athletic facilities master plan outlining all of the projects that have been identified. Regarding the football practice facility, we have been given approval to begin taking soundings from prospective donors and fully develop facility plans. At this point, we have received some strong donor interest and have a set of design drawings. This project is a high priority for Coach Morriss and one that several alumni and friends have expressed interest in supporting! |
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| Rufus Watkins Class 1987: When are going to see Coach Morris Chat live? |
| | Ian McCaw: Rufus, Coach Morriss has committed to making a chat appearance before the start of fall practice. |
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| Jennifer, Waco: Ian where do you see the women's basketball program going this year? Will they be as competitive as they were last season or will those 2 seniors make a difference |
| | Ian McCaw: Jennifer, I couldn't feel any better about the state of our women's basketball program. Coach Mulkey-Robertson does an incredible job and has a wonderful staff. The team will certainly miss Jessika Straton and Dionne Brown, however, it has plenty of experience and talent returning. Expectations will be high, as I understand that our pre-season ranking is #8 in the nation, but the Lady Bears will be up to the task. |
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| Kevin (Waco): Great job this year Ian! I think one of the biggest complaints that I hear universally about Baylor marketing is the lack of Baylor merchandise in retail stores. I know that Baylor wants to be careful about releasing it?s logo copyright but it I can?t believe that I can?t find Baylor gear in retail stores even in Waco. Get outside of Waco and your only chance of getting Baylor stuff is to order it on the website for a huge premium. It seems to me that a school with one of the only sports marketing degrees in the nation would have a stronger sports marketing presence. Could we please release the reigns on our logos a little to allow for a wider distribution of Baylor merchandise? |
| | Ian McCaw: Kevin, You have touched on one of my greatest areas of frustration and concern. We have a great deal of work to do in the area of licensing and merchandising. We do not have enough merchandise in retail stores and much of what it on sale is less than desirable. We are in the process of developing strengthened relationships with key manufacturers including Nike and have initiated a retailer partnership program to improve distribution to apparel. In addition, we have received some preliminary new Bear logo designs that will be brought before focus groups later this month and posted on BaylorBears.com for fan feedback. All of these efforts along with improved competitive success will result in substantial improvement in the merchandising area! |
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| Mark (Austin): When will the new Ferrell Center floor design be unveiled? |
| | Ian McCaw: Mark, Stay tuned to BaylorBears.com for the new Ferrell Center floor design to be unveiled. I understand that it will be posted later today! |
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| Gary (DeSoto): I was wondering who the Bear football team might be playing in non-Big XII games after this year. There are some years that are not full as of yet. |
| | Ian McCaw: Gary, We have SMU, TCU, Connecticut, Wake Forest and Washington State on our future schedules. In addition, we have recently completed a home-and-home agreement with Army. The Big 12 will be supporting legislation to allow for 12 games each year. We enthusiastically support this legislation and obviously, it would open a significant number of scheduling opportunities in the future. |
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| Gary Don-Dallas: Ian: Back when I played at Baylor we had a nice group of GREAT TYLER players that played for Coach Teaff. Do you have any plans to honor any of us in the near future? It would be nice to know that we made a difference at Baylor and that Baylor appreciates what we did for the football program. |
| | Ian McCaw: Gary Don, We have had some great players come to Baylor from Tyler and East Texas. You are certainly among the best to ever wear Green and Gold! In fact, Coach Morriss and his staff are having some strong recruiting success in this area. We are planning to honor the 1974 Miracle of the Brazos team this year on their 30th anniversary. We are also working hard on recognizing all of our former letterwinners. As you may know, Walter Abercrombie was recently hired as Executive Director of the "B" Association. He will be working on strengthening relationships with former players, growing membership of the association and better engaging former athletes. With Walter's leadership in this area, along with the excitement surrounding Baylor Athletics, we are looking forward to great success. We are hopeful that our former players will play a large role in spearheading our progress in this new era of Baylor Athletics. Thanks for all that you do! |
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| | Ian McCaw: Thank you for the questions and keep them coming through the Ask Ian segment. Enjoy the rest of the summer and we will see you in the fall! |
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