Feb. 4, 2005
Ian,
Our family really enjoyed the DVDs commemorating the 1974 Cotton Bowl season and the recent 35-34 win over the Aggies. Is there a possibility you could produce other great games from the past on DVD? For example - vs. Texas A&M in 1980, win over No. 3 USC in 1985, win over defending national champ Colorado in 1991, 1983 vs. Brigham Young, LSU in 1985 Liberty Bowl, etc.
Best wishes.
George M. Vickrey
San Antonio, Texas
George,
We are delighted that you have enjoyed the DVDs that were produced commemorating the 1974 season and Baylor's 35-34 overtime win over Texas A&M. There has been a strong response from our fans to both DVDs and it certainly will cause us to seriously consider similar projects in the future when we believe that sufficient demand among our fans exists.
We recently entered into an agreement with Collegiate Images which may afford us the opportunity to produce additional DVDs in the future. We have been working with Collegiate Images to develop a list of content we could utilize for future DVDs. The Believe Again DVD was done by the KWBU staff members who bring you Inside Baylor Sports each week and I believe it was very well done.
Ian
Ian, I'm concerned with the extent of booing by fans at Lady Bear games. I think it is getting worse and I've not missed a home game in many years. I know officials miss calls but our fans seem to object to every call that goes against BU. Home crowd support is best shown by cheering raucously when good things are done by BU athletes.
Richard Dale
Waco Texas
Richard,
We strongly encourage our fans to cheer for the Lady Bears and exhibit good sporting conduct to both our opponents and the game officials. We have an announcement read to this effect prior to each game.
I share your concern and want to reinforce to all of our readers that we want all Baylor fans to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects positively on the university and women's basketball program.
Ian
Ian, Well, I was at the Baylor vs. Kansas game and I understand that the away team is going to have fans in our arena, but I saw two Kansas fans sitting in the reserved for Baylor section practically courtside. What can we do to ensure that the away team isn't sitting in Baylor Fans Only sections?
Randy Gonzalez
Waco, Texas
Randy,
Thanks for the question. I actually had the opportunity to visit with one of the Kansas fans that were sitting in the donor seating area at the Ferrell Center. This individual happened to be both a Kansas and Baylor fan.
The Kansas Jayhawk basketball team has built a tremendous following over the years. With the outstanding job that Coach Drew is doing along with the recruits who will join the program next year, it will not be long before Baylor fans will be filling every seat in the Ferrell Center to support the Baylor Bears!
Ian
Ian, Just wanted to say that you are doing a great job and the future looks very bright for our athletic programs!
My question is regarding the new logo. We were expecting to see it back in December if I remember correctly and it seems to have become a lost topic. What is its current status and will we still keep the traditional interlocking BU that I proudly flash in my office?
Scott
Dallas
Scott,
The timing of your e-mail is perfect. We unveiled the new identity system for Baylor Athletics on Thursday and it has been very well received.
We built upon the strength of the existing interlocking BU and Baylor word mark, while introducing four new logos.
I deeply appreciate the contributions of the hundreds of Baylor fans, students and staff members who participated in the two rounds of focus groups that we held and provided valuable feedback to Rickabaugh Graphics as our enhanced identity system was developed. In my view, Rickabaugh Graphics has led us to a terrific outcome that built upon the strength of our existing marks. The Sic'em Bear has been particularly popular.
We are confident that our future licensing royalties and merchandising sales will reflect the enthusiasm that our fans have expressed about these marks.
A link to the release is available at www.baylorbears.collegesports.com/genrel/020305.
Ian
Hi Ian, I'm anticipating a winning season this year in football, and significantly improved attendance at the Case as well. My seats last year were very good and remarkably low priced for Big 12 football. Thanks for that.
I noticed the Case has adequate facilities for folks in wheelchairs... can we also do something for our seniors? I can pay for my Dad, but other seniors may need reduced prices, closer parking, lower seats and handrails.
Wallace Pennington
Helotes, Texas
Wallace,
We are very excited about the 2005 football season as well. Coach Morriss and his staff have assembled what we believe to be Baylor's best recruiting class in a decade. Baylor had the youngest team in a BCS conference last year and with another year of development we expect to be significantly improved.
To address your question, Floyd Casey Stadium does make accommodations for fans with special needs. We have a customer service area that you may contact by calling (254) 710-1915.
Ian
Ian, The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics recently released its Directors Cup rankings for the Fall 2004-05 term, but Baylor was nowhere among the 105+ Division I institutions listed.
While I recognize it wasn't necessarily a championship season for football, volleyball or soccer, did our women's cross country trip to Nationals not merit at least some points to get us on the board?
Bart McKay
Waco, Texas
Bart,
Thanks for your e-mail. The NACDA Cup fall rankings only listed schools over a certain point threshold. Baylor did score in women's cross country and therefore have accumulated 16 points in these rankings. As we progress into the winter and spring sports, you can look forward to Baylor once again rising into the Top 50 in these rankings.
Ian
Ian, Why does Baylor not have a scholarship for a young man like Joe Pawelek?
Bill Sweet
Horseshoe Bay, Texas
Bill,
Thanks for the advice regarding Joe Pawelek. He was among the 20 student-athletes who on Wednesday signed a national letter of intent to attend Baylor next fall. We look forward to this recruiting class being a core part of the resurgence of the Baylor football program.
Ian
Final Thoughts
Baylor teams are garnering a great deal of attention at the top of the national rankings. As of this writing, we have the following teams ranked in the Top 20 nationally: men's tennis (#1), women's basketball (#8), baseball (#11), softball (#17), men's indoor track (#17) and women's indoor track (#20).
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.
Baylor Athletics is enjoying great momentum resulting from our outstanding coaching leadership and the accomplishments of our teams and student-athletes. We look forward to this campaign drawing together the entire Baylor family in support of the athletic program and building a bright future of unprecedented success.
Thanks to the great work of our investment team led by Jonathan Hook, the value of Baylor's athletic endowment has reached $17 million. As you may know, Baylor's endowment growth ranked first in the nation this past year.
A great way to support Baylor Athletics is by making a gift to our endowment through a scholarship fund. For more information, please contact Doug Smith in the Baylor Bear Foundation at 254-710-3650.
