 | | Ian McCaw stopped by for a live chat Wednesday. |
Ian McCaw assumed the leadership of Baylor's 18-sport, Big 12 intercollegiate athletics program on Sept. 8, 2003. Baylor has experienced unprecedented success under McCaw the past two years. This past academic year, the Bears experienced their most successful season on the gridiron since entering the Big 12 under head coach Guy Morriss. In addition, the women's basketball team made its third straight Sweet 16, the men's and women's tennis teams both captured Big 12 titles and the baseball team made its 13th NCAA postseason appearance. The softball team made its third straight NCAA postseason appearance and the Bears' track and field teams crowned one NCAA champion, six individual All-Americans and three All-America relay teams. During the 2004-05 academic year, the women's basketball team captured the program's first NCAA championship and three teams - women's basketball and men's and women's tennis - captured Big 12 regular season titles, the most in the history of the school. Baylor enjoyed one of its most comprehensively successful years in 2003-04 including winning the first NCAA team championship in school history along with five NCAA individual titles. The men's tennis team captured the NCAA team championship, while Benjamin Becker won the NCAA men's singles title, Jeremy Wariner won the NCAA indoor and outdoor 400 meter titles and the 4x400-meter relay team captured the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships. Baylor had 10 teams advance to 2003-04 NCAA postseason competition including women's cross country, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, women's basketball, softball, men's and women's golf and men's tennis. An 11th Baylor program, women's tennis, had an individual participate in the national championships. In the final NACDA Cup rankings, Baylor finished 47th, and seven of its programs were ranked in the nation's top 25 at season's end. A five-year strategic plan for intercollegiate athletics was developed and implemented inclusive of department goals and objectives. Issues relating to the student-athlete experience, enhanced program competitiveness, equity, diversity, rules compliance, sporting conduct, external support, facility improvements and long-term financial stability were addressed. |
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 |  | Ian McCaw: Thank you for joining us for this morning's chat. |
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| David Wells: I just want your thoughts on David Gettis, why did we have to recruit him a second time? I've have seen him run track & play football at Dorsey High though he never knew who I was, he ran a 44 on his 400 as a Senior & has 3 track titles on the 400 a track record in California. He is a great athlete but says his first love is Football. So this season how effective will he be on the football field, on the track and in the classroom? I'm really excited about seeing him at Baylor. I will definitely be buying season tickets for the second straight year. Sic Em' Bears! |
| | Ian McCaw: David Gettis is one of the highest profile recruits ever to come to Baylor. He has the potential to be highly successful in both track and field and football. I know that both coaching staffs are excited about having him on campus this summer and look for him to make a significant impact as a freshman. Thanks for your support of Baylor Athletics! |
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| Ken (Park Cities): With your close connections to Notre Dame athletic administrators, what's the latest update in scheduling an annual game vs. the Irish in Dallas' Cotton Bowl. I hear the City/Dallas is offering $2+million/game/year, true? |
| | Ian McCaw: Ken, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work for Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White for eight years and we are close friends. We have discussed a Baylor - Notre Dame neutral site football game in Dallas. At this time, I cannot share with you any more details, however, I am encouraged regarding the potential of this coming together. Clearly, this game would be a major event for the Baylor family. |
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| Jeff (Dallas): Hello Ian, Please share your thoughts on Coach Smith publicly expressing interest in the LSU, and other Mississippi Gulf-Coast area head coaching jobs. Is there something that could've been done in advance to make him happier here (e.g. extending his contract after last year's CWS run)? Do you maintain a "short-list" of potential replacements for the baseball program? |
| | Ian McCaw: Jeff, thanks for the question. We have a few similar questions and comments this morning. Steve Smith and his staff have done a wonderful job in developing a highly competitive baseball program at Baylor. Moreover, Coach Smith represents an excellent institutional fit and shares Baylor's values. We are indeed fortunate to have his leadership of our baseball program. At the same time, it is flattering to be considered when high profile jobs open. Certainly, LSU having won five national championships in baseball would fit that criteria. Thanks in large part to his outstanding work over the past 12 years, Coach Smith has turned the head coaching job at Baylor into one of the best positions in the nation in my view. We have the best facility in the nation, a strong and growing fan base, close proximatey to a large number of outstanding prospective student-athletes and strong support from the administration. In addition, Baylor's Christian mission, commitment to academic excellence and emerging national reputation are points of difference that separate us from many other universities in our region. To answer your final two questions, I believe that Coach Smith is very happy at Baylor and I don't expect to need to use a short list any time soon. I look forward to working with Coach Smith for many years to come. |
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| Garrett, Bellmead: What is the status of the Immortal 10 project. It has been talked about for a long time but nothing seems to happen. |
| | Ian McCaw: Garrett, the Immortal 10 project has been fully funded and is currently being completed. We expect that there will be a dedication of the Immortal 10 project during the upcoming year. More detailed information should become available this fall. |
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| Jerry in Richardson: Mr. McCaw from what I see you run a really good athletic program. I have heard rumors about the TCU game being played on Sunday. What are you doing to promote football this year. |
| | Ian McCaw: Jerry, as you may have read this morning, the Baylor - TCU football game will be played on Sunday, September 3 beginning at 4:30 on Fox Sports Network. This is the culmination of a great deal of effort and a tremendous coup for our football program. It will be a wonderful opportunity for national exposure along with the recruiting benefits that will accrue. On the marketing front, our staff is working with The Richards Group in Dallas on a significant multi-media marketing campaign that will begin in July. We are going to combine this effort with an aggressive ticket sales campaign. We are looking forward to making signficant gains in football attendance this year. |
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| Adam (Carrollton, Texas): Ian you are doing a great job! Keep it up. My question is regarding the upcoming mens basketball season. It has been well publisized on all of the recruiting websites and newspapers that Scott Drew is tearing up the recruiting trail and doing a phenominal and admirable job. What steps is the athletic department taking to make this year one of the best in attendance marks for the upcoming season? Do you have a marketing strategy in place to make this one of the best years, attendance wise, for Baylor mens basketball? Scott Drew deserves so much credit and I think a packed house every game is that one last step that will make this team a Big 12 contender year in and year out. |
| | Ian McCaw: Coach Drew is doing a tremendous job in advancing our men's basketball program and there is a great deal of excitement about the upcoming season. Baylor men's basketball is going to very quickly become a tough ticket and we look forward to significantly increased season ticket demand this year. As referenced above, we have enhanced our personnel, financial commitment and strategies in the marketing area. We will afford all of our revenue sports additional marketing resources, media exposure and promotions during the upcoming year. Our marketing staff is in the process of developing our men's basketball marketing plan for next year in concert with the coaching staff. We are all looking forward to large crowds and a great atmosphere in the Ferrell Center this season. |
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| Jeff (Dallas): Hello Ian, How are 2006 football season ticket sales progressing thus far? |
| | Ian McCaw: Jeff, season ticket renewals in football have gone very well. Most recently, our ticket office and Bear Foundation staffs have been working on the seating in the new Bear Club section. This is a challenging process that has gone very smoothly. New season ticket sales are off to a great start and can be attributed to both first-time buyers as well as some who have renewed after being away for a number of years as a result of the football program's rapid progress under Coach Morriss. In addition, once we finish seating the Bear Club area season ticket holders, we may have a limited number of these premium seats available. We have had an overwhelming number of fans contact us about purchasing these seats once they become available. |
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| James (Dallas): Ian: I am hearing that the proposed plans for an on-campus football practice facility have recently been revised to include an indoor practice area. Is this true, and if so, will it be a multi-purpose facility (for example, able to host indoor track meets)or football-only? If this is indeed the case, how soon will we be able to view renderings/sketches of the new facility on this website? |
| | Ian McCaw: James, yes, we have recently retained an architect to update and expand the plans for the football practice facility. The new renderings are still being developed, but we expect to have development materials including booklets and a DVD available in July in order for us to begin meeting with donors about supporting this important project. |
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| Peter (Belton, TX): What new additions are we likely to see under the stands a FCS? Will anything be done to enhance the concessions and restroom areas? |
| | Ian McCaw: Peter, you will see several changes at Floyd Casey Stadium when you arrive for the first game on September 3. The Bear Club seating section will be completed. A new football recruiting center is being constructed on the Northwest end of the Stadium. The Galloway Suite is being renovated. In addition, we will have the football heritage program completed that will involve hanging of banners that share the history and represent the tradition of Baylor football. Concessions will be expanded and enhanced and the merchandising space on the west side will also be increased. |
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| Earl, Hillsboro: I am really proud to be a Baylor Bear. What are your thoughts about the year? |
| | Ian McCaw: Earl, you should be very proud of our athletic program. Our coaches, staff and student-athletes are all doing a great job. We expect that this will be our second highest finish ever in the NACDA Director's Cup, behind only our 25th place finish last year. We had a school-record 13 teams advance to post-season competition and eight teams finish the year ranked in the Top 20 in the nation. At the same time, Baylor student-athletes continue to set the standard in the Big 12 in terms of graduation rates and APR scores. We had our best-ever financial year exceeding all revenue goals, and either have completed or are in process of completing 14 different facilities projects. It has been a special year in many ways and we are grateful to Baylor fans for their incredible support. |
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| | Ian McCaw: Thank you for joining us for today's chat. Have a great day! |
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