March 17, 2005
Ian,
Keep up the great work of making Baylor University the best possible collegiate athletic department that it can be! What is the payout for each participating school in the NCAA Women's Final Four basketball tourney? See you at the Texas baseball series.
Thanks,
Nick Nichols
Richmond,Texas
Nick,
Thanks for the e-mail and I hope that you enjoy the baseball series versus Texas this weekend. Tickets are still available, but they are going fast. Call the Baylor Athletic Ticket Office at 710-1000 to reserve your tickets today!
The NCAA women's basketball tournament does not operate at a net profit. With that, there is not a distribution pool available to participating institutions. Each participating team does receive travel expenses and a per diem that is funded through the NCAA operating budget.
Ian
Ian, First congratulations to you and the women's basketball team on the Big 12 Title. I was at that game and the atmosphere was amazing.
My question concerns the men's tennis team. Can you tell me when the indoor tennis facility will be completed? I appreciate your time and the great things you're doing for the University.
Thanks and Sic 'em.
Wesley Dunlap
Riesel, Texas
Wesley,
Thank you for the kind words and your strong support.
The indoor tennis/multipurpose facility is included within the recently announced Victory With Integrity development campaign. We have not prioritized projects within the campaign due to each project being dependent upon fundraising success. The projects will be advanced based upon where Baylor alumni and friends want to designate their contributions.
We are looking forward to successfully raising funds for each of these projects and moving toward completion as soon as possible.
Ian
Ian, When and where will the basketball Lady Bears be playing next? I would really enjoy knowing so that I could possibly go and cheer for them.
Shelton Destini
Lorena, Texas
Shelton,
As you probably know by now, the Baylor Lady Bears have earned the second seed in the Tempe Regional which will involve them playing in Seattle on March 19-21 versus Illinois State and if they win either TCU or Oregon. The Tempe Regional will be held March 26-28 and include the four teams that advance from first and second round competition.
We appreciate your support of the Lady Bears!
Ian
Ian, I've seen a few #33 jerseys at the women's basketball games and I think that they were long overdue. When can we expect to see some #14 jerseys at the men's games?
Mark Scott
Waco, Texas
Mark,
Thanks for the e-mail.
We have had a strong response to the replica basketball jerseys that have been made available through the Baylor Bookstore and at home games. We will continue to offer more replica apparel and realize that our fans are excited about it. We expect to have replica jerseys with #14 for next season.
Ian
Ian, As Baylor supporters, we should all be very proud of our school's outstanding graduation rates among Baylor athletes. I believe we are ranked first in several sports. My question is what kind of impact, if any, does this have in our recruiting efforts, particularly in football. Thanks for the great work you are doing at Baylor.
Tom Carpenter
Humble, Texas
Tom,
Thank you for the excellent question.
You are correct that Baylor leads the Big 12 in NCAA graduation rates and without question this success is invaluable in the recruiting process. Prospective student-athletes and families who place a high value upon earning an outstanding private education and valuable degree are naturally and strongly attracted to Baylor.
In my view, Baylor's strong academic integrity and reputation along with our outstanding coaches are the primary reasons that we are recruiting at such a high level.
Ian
Ian, Can you give us an idea what the options will be for Baylor supporters during the NCAA women's basketball tournament? Once the brackets have been announced, will Baylor organize trips and/or ticket blocks so Baylor fans can sit together and have a strong presence at the games to support the team? I'm considering traveling to a game or two and would really like to be able to sit with Baylor fans.
Thanks. Keep up the good work.
Cynthia Hobgood
Arlington, Va.
Cynthia,
The Baylor Bear Foundation has been working with a local travel agency to arrange for post-season trips for its members to follow the Lady Bears throughout the NCAA women's basketball tournament. For more information, please contact the Bear Foundation at 254-710-4214.
Speaking of the BBF, if you have not renewed your membership please do so today either by calling the office or on-line at BaylorBears.com.
Hi Ian, I noticed the athletic department is auctioning off merchandise identical to what the football staff wore this season on ebay. My question is, where can I buy that stuff? Those four items are emblematic of the kind of stuff Baylor fans want--classy, nice, and with a swoosh on it. It just seems insane that that stuff is only available in a one of a kind auction on ebay. That stuff, the hat especially, would fly off the shelves. Where can Baylor fans buy that stuff?
Mitch J.
Austin, Texas
Editor's Note: Similar questions were received from Jack N. (Waco, Texas), Tony T. (Houston, Texas), Ty McNeely (Waco, Texas).
Mitch,
Thanks for the question.
The athletic department and Baylor bookstore have been working hard to make the Nike apparel that our coaches and teams wear available to our fan base. Unfortunately, it is Nike who is preventing us from supplying it to you. Currently, we do not fall within a merchandising economic tier for them to move our team gear to their retail division.
Clearly, our preference is to sell these items through retail stores including the bookstore, however, at this time we are limited to selling the items through the auction on BaylorBears.com. We will be sharing the overwhelming response to the auction with Nike in the hope that they will be more accommodating in offering these items to fans through retail distribution.
We recognize that Nike coaches apparel is popular and will continue to use all means available to us to persuade Nike to work with us in providing this merchandise to Baylor fans.
Ian
Final Thoughts The Baylor Bear Foundation Fund Drive Kickoff is set for April 9th in the Galloway Suite at Floyd Casey Stadium. Please join us for an exciting day, meet our coaches and staff and help us with our efforts to raise funds for student-athlete scholarships!
I strongly urge Baylor fans to come out and support Baylor's spring sports. We have Top 25 nationally ranked teams in softball (#9), baseball (#16), men's (#1) and women's (#17) tennis, and men's (#21) and women's (#21) track and field. Schedules are available on BaylorBears.com.
The Lady Bears basketball team will have a sendoff event at the Waco Airport prior to its departure for Seattle on Thursday, March 17 just before 3:00. I know that many local fans will want to send the Lady Bears off with their best wishes!
Finally, I want to thank all of the fans who traveled to Kansas City for the Big 12 men's and women's basketball tournament to support Baylor. We had a great showing of fans and I appreciate your incredible support of Baylor basketball!
