 | | Ian McCaw |
Chat with Athletic Director Ian McCaw Welcome to BaylorBears.com's online chat, where Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw will join us at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 19. McCaw was named Director of Athletics of Baylor's 18-sport, Big 12 intercollegiate athletics program Sept. 8, 2003. Under McCaw's leadership, the department has achieved unprecedented academic, athletics and administrative success. Since 2003, Baylor has enjoyed its most competitively successful period in the history of its intercollegiate athletics program. During that time, Baylor has captured two NCAA national team championships, 20 Big 12 conference championships and recorded its three highest finishes in the NACDA Directors' Cup standings. Baylor achieved three Top 40 finishes in the NACDA Director's Cup including its highest finish ever in 2004-05 with a 25th-place ranking. A school-record 13 teams advanced to post-season competition in both 2005-06 and 2006-07. Baylor has also excelled in conference competition consistently finishing in the top half of the Big 12 all-sports standings. McCaw won't be dropping by until Thursday morning, but you can submit your questions now, and we will hold them until then. |
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 |  | Ian McCaw: Good morning and thank you for joining us for today's chat session. |
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| Darrell (Denton): I have a football scheduling question. I have never been a fan of us playing I-AA teams and wanted to know if we could get away from playing teams not in Division I as the program continues to grow. A school at our level does not need to play these games (see michigan). And besides that's why the Sun Belt Conference is around. Thanks and keep up the great job. Sic Em' |
| | Ian McCaw: Darrell, thank you for the question. We play a Division I-AA opponent each year in the non-conference portion of our football schedule for several reasons. It allows us an additional home game (without a return), a victory would count towards the six-win minimum for bowl eligibility and it is a game that we have used to offer reduced priced tickets to charitable organizations and many of our supporters in the Waco community. Thanks for your support! |
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| Mike (Waco): I'm getting excited about football. The new building is looking good. When do the coaches move in? |
| | Ian McCaw: Mike, I am excited about the 2008 football season as well. Our marketing efforts have begun and season ticket sales are going strong. The Highers Athletics Complex and Simpson Athletics and Academic Center projects are on schedule and within budget. I get more excited about this project every time I drive down University Parks. We expect to begin move-in during the month of November and we plan to have the coaches move in immediately following the end of the regular season. |
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| Marcus (Dallas): I watched the tv show with us winning the 4x4 ... what a way to finish the year! Kudos to the track athletes and coaches. |
| | Ian McCaw: Marcus, thank you for the comments about the Baylor track team's success at the NCAA championships last weekend. We received wonderful coverage on CBS when our men's mile relay team won the national championship. It was a great meet overall for the men's team which finished 7th and the women's team which was 15th. I am very proud of the great work that Todd Harbour and his staff are doing! The other great news is that both the men's and women's teams are very young and we return many of our top performers. |
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| Bill (Houston): I heard that there was some discussion with Notre Dame about playing at the new Texas Stadium in the future. Is this something that is currently being looked at? |
| | Ian McCaw: Bill, we have Notre Dame on our football schedule in 2012. The game was originally scheduled for the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, however, due to issues related to television agreements it was necessary to move the game to a site outside of the Big 12 footprint. With that, we will play Notre Dame in another location that will be announced shortly. You may have noticed that we recently completed our 2009 schedule with the addition of Kent State. Also, we have signed a six-year agreement with SMU, a two-year deal with Navy and extended our Rice series. |
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| Paul (McGregor): Where are we going to end up in the Athletic Directors Cup. |
| | Ian McCaw: Paul, I expected this question to come up this morning. We are going to finish in the low 40's in the final NACDA Director's Cup standings when they are announced on June 26. It has been another very good year for Baylor Athletics and I am grateful for the support of our alumni and fans, and the tremendous work on the part of our student-athletes, coaches and staff. |
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| John (Houston): I noticed in the Waco Trib that there was some great talent at the last football camp (including an a&m recuit). I no you can not speak about possible recruits, but how big are those camps in recruiting? I have been concerened with the number of 2009 recruits we have signed compared to many other schools including non big xii schools. |
| | Ian McCaw: John, thank you for the question and comments. I remember Coach Briles discussing his vision for camps and the positive impact that they have on recruiting when we interviewed him last November. I believe that these mini camps are highly effective in reaching out to prospective student-athletes. Football recruiting is going extremely well again this year, and I am confident that our football program has exciting years ahead under Coach Briles' leadership. |
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| Riley (San Antonio): I know this question is probably left best to ask Coach Briles, but how exciting are the possibilities at quarterback this season. With Freeman coming in and one of the most exciting freshman quarterbacks in the nation is should make for some great competition. Personally I like the freshman to start, keep up the great work! |
| | Ian McCaw: Riley, you are correct that Coach Briles and his staff will make these personnel decisions. The great news is that we will have more competition and depth at the quarterback position this year than any time since I have been at Baylor. Thank you for the kind comments. |
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| Brandon (San Diego): Do you have an update on the status of the planned indoor tennis facility? |
| | Ian McCaw: Brandon, we have recently had a significant pledge towards this project and it is closer to becoming a reality. We need one additional major gift before it will be in a position to move forward. We are anxious to get this project underway in order to support our outstanding men's and women's tennis programs! |
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| Joe (Waco): First time football season ticket holder here and I am cranked up to see Coach Briles git er done. I love the guy. Good move getting the WF game Thursday. Do you think it'll be a big crowd. |
| | Ian McCaw: Joe, thank you for purchasing football season tickets this year. You will not be alone as a first time season ticket holder! We have a lot of new season tickets orders. Coach Briles and his staff are doing an extraordinary job and everyone is going to be excited about the product on the field. Moving the Wake Forest game to Thursday for national television on FSN was an easy decision. We are excited that the 2008 college football season will kickoff at Baylor on Thursday, August 28! We are looking forward to a great crowd and a lot of excitement for this game. Wake Forest should come in nationally ranked, and I will promise you that the Bears will be ready to play! |
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| Joseph (McAllen): Hey Ian, Is there any chance we'll be playing Duke in basketball now that your friend is their new AD? Thanks for all you do! |
| | Ian McCaw: Joseph, I hope so. Coach Drew and I have discussed a series with Duke. I have not discussed a series with Kevin White at this point, as he has just begun his duties at Duke this week. I appreciate your kind comments. |
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| Joseph (Waco): Ian, when does the men's basketball schedule for this year come out? |
| | Ian McCaw: Joseph, we typically receive the men's and women's basketball conference schedules in July. Once dates for television and non-conference play are finalized, we should announce the full schedules in August. |
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| Doug Williams (Waco): I thoroughly enjoy listening to John Morris as the Voice of the Bears. Are there any plans to expand his role to the baseball team? Speaking of the baseball team, I am glad to hear that Steve Smith will remain as head coach! |
| | Ian McCaw: Doug, thank you for the kind comments about John Morris and Steve Smith. We appreciate the job that both Tom Barfield and Lark Smith do with Baylor Baseball and look forward to their continued involvement in the future. |
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| Ed (Hillsboro): What do you think were the biggest accomplishments for BU Athletics this year. |
| | Ian McCaw: Ed, this was a successful year on many fronts and I am sure that I will miss some. Competitively, the men's basketball team reaching the NCAA tournament was a highlight. Baylor was one of a small number of schools to have both men's and women's basketball teams reach NCAA play. The women's tennis team reached the final four for the first time and that was a great achievement. As mentioned above, men's and women's track had a great NCAA outdoor meet. The hiring of Coach Briles was a major accomplishment and we are very excited about Marci Jobson's leadership of our soccer program as well. We had another record breaking year in the Bear Foundation and have advanced a number of important capital projects. There are so many wonderful things taking place within our department, it is just a blessing to be a part of it. |
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| Jim (Colorado): I hear you have a new chaplain. What does he do. |
| | Ian McCaw: Jim, we are very excited about the appointment of Wes Yeary as our new athletics chaplain. Wes is a Baylor graduate who played football for Coach Teaff in the mid-1980's and has been a highly successful FCA leader at Mississippi and Auburn. He recently joined our department and will work closely with the football team. He will lead devotions, bible studies and build relationships with our coaches, staff and student-athletes. He is a very special individual and we are blessed to have him at Baylor. He will also coordinate a number of chaplains who work with our programs. We are very fortuante to have these wonderful people work with our teams and provide great ministry. |
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| | Ian McCaw: Thank you for all of the questions today. I could not get to all of them, so we will have to do this again before the fall. Have a great summer and thank you for all that you do for Baylor! |
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