Feb. 15, 2005
Ian,
Please tell me the significance of the Baylor men's basketball team playing "That Good Ole Baylor Line" before the games and the women's team playing it at the end of the game? It is such a great way to begin and energize the crowd before a game. Thanks.
April Renee McAdams
Waco, Texas
April,
The timing of the playing of "That Good Ole Baylor Line" has evolved from the desires of our respective basketball programs. The men's program prefers it to be played prior to the game, similar to football. Conversely, the women's team favors remaining on the floor after the game for its playing.
What is most important from my vantage point is that we celebrate our tradition and have the school song played at our home athletic contests.
Thank you for the question.
Ian
Dear Mr. McCaw, I am a freshman here at Baylor and am very interested in being an athletic director in the future. I was wondering if you any advice about classes to take or what to major in. I am very interested in impacting a college through the athletic program like you have.
Thank you for your time and help.
Tommy Byrd
Nashville, Ark.
Tommy,
Thank you for the e-mail.
In recent years, the role of an athletic director has become much more complex and requires a strong background and expertise in a variety of areas including leadership, management, marketing and resource acquisition. As a result, the most desirable academic background for athletic directors in my opinion is business and/or sport management.
With that, I would encourage you to consider academic opportunities in the Hankamer School of Business. A specific program to consider is the newly created Sports, Sponsorship and Sales program led by Dr. Kirk Wakefield and Dr. Darryl Lehnus.
Best wishes in your academic and career pursuits.
Ian
Ian, Will there be a group trip to the Baylor vs. Army game this upcoming season? If so can we go ahead and book a seat soon?
Trent Collier
Corpus Christi, Texas
Trent,
The Baylor Bear Foundation is currently working with a travel agency to establish a trip to the Baylor - Army game on September 17. We have had numerous inquiries and a strong expression of interest in this trip by a great many Baylor fans. Detailed information regarding this trip will be announced shortly through the Bear Foundation.
Speaking of the BBF, if you have not already done so, please renew your Bear Foundation membership either by calling 254-710-4214 or on-line at http://www.baylorbearfoundation.com.
We are grateful for your strong support!
Ian
Ian, First of all, you and your staff have done an outstanding job promoting Baylor athletics! My question relates to tailgating at football games. I know you have had some discussion with focus groups regarding expanding this to different areas around the stadium. Where are we on this?
I bring my family down to every home game from McKinney and we would love for tailgating to grow at Baylor to a level comparable to say Iowa State. Thanks for your time!
Johnny Galyean
McKinney, Texas
Johnny,
Thank you for the words of encouragement. It is a great privilege to have the opportunity to work with such an excellent coaching and administrative staff.
Our marketing staff has hosted a focus group which discussed the desire of fans for enhanced tailgating opportunities. As you know, we are striving to create a fan-friendly environment at Floyd Casey Stadium and you can expect that we will be introducing new tailgating opportunities this fall.
In the meantime, we are proceeding with the remaining phases of the Grant Teaff Plaza project. This project will dramatically improve the fan experience at home games both inside and outside of the Stadium. We have a rendering of the completed project on the website at http://www.collegesports.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/bay/genrel/auto_pdf/integrity-fcs-project.
If you have not already done so, please consider making a gift toward the Grant Teaff Plaza.
Ian
Ian, Finally, a great Baylor Bear logo!
Granted, THE Baylor Logo is the interlocking BU, but it's great to have a Bear that looks like a real bear, is aggressive, and is designed specifically for Baylor (i.e. the raised Bear Paw).
Sic'Em Bears!
David Gibson
Waco, Texas
Editor's Note: A similar question was received by Stan Perry.
David,
Thank you for the kind e-mail. We are excited about the new Bear logos that have enhanced our athletic identity system. We will continue to use of the interlocking BU as the primary mark along with the BAYLOR spirit marks, however, developing a Bear that has been widely embraced by our fans is an important step. To date, over 80 percent of the responses that we have received about the new logos have been positive.
We have had merchandise with the new Bear on it in the Baylor Bookstore for a couple of weeks and the sales have been strong. Our licensing area will soon be introducing a Retailer Program that will encourage greater distribution of Baylor apparel. If you go into a retail store that carries Big 12 merchandise and Baylor apparel is unavailable, please contact Bill_Chaves@baylor.edu so that we can follow-up.
Kim Gorum of the Waco Tribune-Herald wrote an excellent story about the new logos that I believe you will enjoy. The following is the link: http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/content/sports/college/2005/02/15/20050215wacbaylor_logo.html.
Ian
Ian, I do not have a question but a comment. I want to thank you for doing the job that you are doing at Baylor. It is easy to say that the 2-3 years ago were the worst time in Baylor athletics. You and the current coaches have come along and changed what was wrong and are doing things the right way. It is starting to show. I am very proud to be associated with Baylor and what you are doing.
Please commend your coaches, your staff, and yourself. I know that daily you and the coaches probably receive angry email about not winning right away, but I am sure that there are more like me seeing that a strong foundation has been built, and more success will follow.
Mark Moore
McKinney, Texas
Mark,
I really appreciate your positive e-mail and words of encouragement. As I stated above, we are blessed to have coaches and staff who are both outstanding people and talented professionals.
While we clearly have a great deal of work to do in many areas, we believe that we have an outstanding coaching staff, exceptional student-athletes and as a result have all of our programs pointed in the right direction. The results are showing as for the first time since March 2002 we have three teams ranked in the nation's Top 10 (#1 men's tennis, #7 women's basketball and #8 baseball). In addition, three other programs (softball, men's and women's track) are ranked between 11 and 20.
All of our spring sports are off to terrific sports and the next several months will surely be exciting for Baylor fans!
Ian
Ian, The new campaign to raise funds sounds very impressive, is there anything that those of us who do not possess the means to donate thousands of dollars at a time might be able to participate in the growth of our facilities, programs, endowments and coaches salaries?
I am excited about the near future of Baylor athletics and want to help usher in the new era. As a side note, what is the timeline for construction with respect to the football facility and the basketball practice facility?
Trent Collier
Corpus Christi, Texas
Trent,
I appreciate your e-mail and expression of support. We are asking the entire Baylor family to support the athletic program at the level that they are able. Many are able to make significant gifts and we will need their support to reach the campaign goal. However, it is critical that everyone participate at the level that they are able. The minimum giving level to join the Bear Foundation is $150, so we are hopeful that all Baylor fans can participate and be a part of Victory With Integrity!
We are excited about the Board of Regent's vision and strong support of Baylor Athletics through the resolution to approve the Victory With Integrity campaign. This campaign is an outgrowth of our strategic plan and consistent with our goals of providing a high quality student-athlete experience and achieving competitive success in all sports.
For more information about the campaign, there is a Victory With Integrity button on the BaylorBears.com website next to the Ask Ian feature or you may contact Doug Smith in the Baylor Bear Foundation at 254-710-3650. We are appreciative of your strong support!
Ian
Final Thoughts
Special thanks to Drayton McLane and the Houston Astros organization for affording our baseball program and fans outstanding hospitality this weekend at the Minute Maid Park College Classic. The Bears made the most of the weekend by sweeping three games and thrilling our fans in attendance. We are looking forward to a great season and if you have not already done so, please purchase your baseball season tickets today by calling 710-1000. Several difference ticket packages are available.
We will be hosting "Super Saturday" on February 19 when Baylor fans can take in a full range of their favorite Bear teams in one trip. The women's tennis team, fresh off its upset of #7 Clemson, will host Pepperdine at 1 p.m. The Big 12-leading Lady Bears play second-place Iowa State at 2 p.m. followed by our No. 8 baseball team hosting No. 24 Oral Roberts at Baylor Ballpark at 5:30 p.m. To cap off the day, men's basketball hosts Texas at 8 p.m. It will be a great day to be a Baylor fan!
