Sept. 11, 2007
Baylor Family,
The beginning of a new athletics year is always a special time filled with excitement. This year is particularly encouraging as our Baylor teams are off to strong starts. This past weekend we had a very unique accomplishment as every Baylor team that competed came away victorious.
The football team's win over Rice was described by some fans as the most impressive offensive performance in recent memory. Blake Syzmanski set two school passing records and was named the Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week in the 42-17 win over the Owls.
Baylor volleyball swept three matches in the SMU tournament to improve its record to 7-3 on the season as it begins Big 12 play on Wednesday when it hosts Iowa State at 6:30 at the Ferrell Center.
The Baylor soccer team similarly won a tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, posting two wins and remains undefeated at 4-0-1 on the season.
The women's cross country team put together a very impressive performance in winning its meet at BYU.
We look forward to continuing this success and building on the momentum over the coming weeks.
I hope that we can count on all of you to be at Floyd Casey Stadium on Saturday night. We are offering a Family Pack for the Texas State game that includes four hot dogs, four drinks and four tickets for just $75. This is a great opportunity to bring the entire family for a very affordable price and support the Bears.
You may have seen the announcement on BaylorBears.com or in the Insider about another record year for the Baylor Bear Foundation when $4,500,000 was raised for student-athlete scholarships. We are excited that every year the Baylor Family becomes increasingly generous and provides tremendous support for student-athlete scholarships. Thank you to each of you who have joined the BBF. If you have not done so, please join this year. Memberships begin at $150 per year.
The following are the most recent round of Ask Ian questions.
Ian;
Good work on the changes in Bear Heights and such. It really looks good.
That was a tough loss against TCU. Hopefully, we'll bounce back this season.
George Waco, Texas
George,
There was a great response by our fans and we are very excited about the improvements to the premium seating areas at Floyd Casey Stadium. Bear Heights and Bear Place feature improved seating, and the concourse area in Bear Heights includes a number of improvements such as a new concessions areas and amenities such as flat screen televisions. The Jay and Jenny Allison Skybox also featured a number of improvements including new televisions, windows and improved entry ways.
I was proud of the way that the team played against Rice and it made for an exciting game for our fans. George, I hope you and many others will come out to Floyd Casey Stadium again on Saturday and support the Bears against Texas State.
Ian
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No one is happy with the TCU game. Who scheduled these games the last two years? We need more winnable games in the future.
Perry Hewitt, Texas
Perry,
The TCU games were scheduled by a previous administration a number of years ago, as were the upcoming games in 2010 and 2011. We have recently scheduled two extended series with former Southwest Conference schools Rice and SMU, and believe those are great games for both our fans and those of the other schools. In addition, those markets represent important recruiting areas for our program.
Ian
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Ian:
Any updates on funding to cover the artificial turf field at the new football complex on campus? Would be nice to do it all at once rather than having to do it in phases. Looks like things are really coming along in terms of site work for the main project, noticed that everything has been cleared including the old pool building.
Steve, Mackenzie Dallas, Texas
Steve,
We are enjoying incredible athletics development success in the Victory With Integrity campaign. At the Athletics Director's Hall of Honor dinner on Friday night, I shared with our guests that more than $50 million in private support has been committed to athletics facilities projects in the first two and one-half years of Victory With Integrity. However, we are in need of additional support to complete the indoor football practice facility, indoor tennis and multi-purpose facility and on-campus track and field complex. We hope to proceed with all of these projects on a very aggressive timeline, however, we require additional gifts to be able to do so. We are counting on those in the Baylor family with the capacity to make the major gifts and provide the critical support in order for us to "finish the job!"
I also want to express my appreciation to the Baylor Bear Foundation staff, board and volunteers. Once again, you led us to a record year in fundraising in support of student-athlete scholarships. If you are not already a member, please join the Bear Foundation by calling 254-710-4214.
Ian
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Ian,
According to the schedule posted online there is a men's basketball exhibition the night before the Homecoming football game (November 2). Traditionally, this has been the night of the bonfire, and the bonfire has been held on the parking lot of the Ferrell Center the last couple of years.
Will this scheduling conflict affect festivities?
Joseph Vale McAllen, Texas
Joseph,
This is a great observation and question. The Homecoming bonfire is being relocated to a site on campus this year and will not be in the Ferrell Center parking lot. With that, our men's basketball team will host its exhibition game against Tarleton State at 7:00 p.m. on November 2.
You can watch the game and then head to the bonfire which I understand begins at about 9:30 p.m. I am very excited about our prospects for the season and encourage everyone to purchase season tickets and enjoy Baylor men's basketball by calling 710-1000.
Ian
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Ian,
Will Daniel Sepulveda be getting a banner at Floyd Casey?
Joseph Vale McAllen, Texas
Joseph,
This is another very good question. Yes, the Daniel Sepulveda banner will make its debut at Floyd Casey Stadium against Colorado. Daniel is a great representative of Baylor University and our football program, so it is a privilege to be able to recognize him in this way alongside our other great players from the past.
Ian
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Ian,
Will Baylor football games be carried on Sirius or XM Satellite radio this fall?
Thanks,
Chris Pevateaux Denver, Colo.
Chris,
The Baylor/ISP radio network provides great coverage throughout Texas and is available at Baylor Bears.com along with being carried on Sirius Channel 161 this fall. We are excited to provide our fans such great access to follow the Bears!
Ian
