| Chat With Athletic Director Ian McCaw on Friday  Welcome to BaylorBears.com's online chat, where Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw will join us at 1 p.m. CT, on Friday, June 22.
McCaw won't be dropping by until Friday afternoon, but you can submit your questions now, and we will hold them until then. McCaw was named Director of Athletics of Baylor's 19-sport, Big 12 intercollegiate athletics program Sept. 8, 2003. Under McCaw's leadership, the department has achieved extraordinary athletics, academic and administrative success. Since 2003, Baylor has enjoyed the most competitively successful period in the history of its intercollegiate athletics program. During that time, Baylor has captured three NCAA team championships and 36 Big 12 conference championships. In McCaw's tenure at Baylor, only the University of Texas and Texas A&M have won more conference titles. Baylor recently wrapped up one of the most successful seasons in NCAA history, setting an NCAA mark with 129 combined wins in the four major sports (football, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball). Baylor was one of only two schools nationally (Florida) to have every sponsored sport advance to postseason; all 19 BU teams. |
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| Moderator: About five more minutes before we begin our chat with Ian McCaw. Get your questions in now. Sic 'em. |
 |  | Ian McCaw: Thank you for joining us for today's chat. We are ready to get started. |
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| Debra Morgan (Austin): Congratulations on a fantastic year! I've heard there is a "Year of the Bear" book in the works. Any chance it will include a DVD of highlights? |
| | Ian McCaw: Thanks for the question, Debra. We are looking forward to August when the Year of the Bear book is expected to be available. It will not include a DVD due to the fact that most of the video highlights belong to television partners and not the University. |
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| Frustrated Aggie (College Station): What is the secret to you guys being the #1 sports program in Texas and maybe the country at a small private school with a low budget? |
| | Ian McCaw: I could go a few directions with this answer. Baylor enjoys a unique point of difference in recruiting the best and brightest student-athletes. We have exceptional coaches, strong academics, a caring Christian environment, an ideal location in the middle of the nation's most fertile recruiting territory and a beautiful campus that includes some of the finest athletics facilities in the country. With that, we are experiencing great success and have a very bright future. |
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| Kevin (Waco): Is there any update on the possible new track stadium? What is the estimated time for completion? And where would the new site be off campus or on campus? |
| | Ian McCaw: Thanks Kevin. We have received several major gifts towards the on-campus track facility, and are anxious to complete fundraising very soon. The preferred site for the track is across the river adjacent to where we intend to build the new football stadium. We hope and anticipate that the projects can more forward concurrently. |
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| Sandra (Austin): This has been such a wonderful year for Baylor and I am so proud to be a Bear. If you had to pick out a few of you favoriate highlights, what would they be? |
| | Ian McCaw: Sandra, thank you for the question. The national Championship in women's basketball; having 2 national players of the year (Robert Griffin - Heisman and Brittney Griner - Wade Trophy); all 19 sports reached post-season competition for the first time in school history; 129 wins between football, basketballs and baseball - surpassing NCAA record previously held by Texas set in 2003-04. Off the field, the stabilizing of the Big 12 including the creation of the Champions Bowl and extension of the television contract would be at the top of the list. |
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| Brett (Dallas): What type of background do you look for when hiring staff for your athletic department? |
| | Ian McCaw: Thank you for the question, Brett. Generally, we look for the 3 C's - character, competence and chemistry (fit). Beyond that, college athletics has become a very specialized field and we seek people who excel in the area where we ask them to work. |
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| Trey Willis (Krum, TX): How will tailgating be effected at the new stadium site? The information shows for 2500 parking spots on site. How does this compare to Floyd Casey? |
| | Ian McCaw: Trey, as you know, tailgating has grown in popularity at Floyd Casey Stadium in recent years. John Garrison on our staff has done a wonderful job in expanding tailgating opportunities for fans. We have soldout more than 400 spaces for the 2012 season and still have a waiting list. The new on-campus stadium will feature a large tailgating area on the east side of the stadium adjacent to the proposed lagoon area where we can create sailgating opportunities for fans as well. It will be a different experience, yet one that I believe our fans will truly enjoy. |
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| Kevin L. (Houston): What can I do to ensure Baylor continues it's dedication to athletic excellence? To be honest, the online resources are kinda confusing. |
| | Ian McCaw: Kevin, this is the kind of question that an athletics director loves to hear! We need you and the rest of Baylor Nation to purchase season tickets and join the Bear Foundation. While we have made incredible progress in recent years, Baylor must engage more of its 150,000 plus alumni and friends if we are to reach our full potential as an athletics program and University. Thank you and Baylor Nation for your support! |
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| Joe (Waco): Nice story in the Trib on the job creation and economic stimulus of the stadium. We need both around here. When will you start building? |
| | Ian McCaw: For those who missed the story referenced by Joe, the Waco Tribune-Herald had a write-up citing renowned economist Ray Perryman who suggested that the economic benefits of the new football stadium would be approximately $23 billion over the next 20 years with more than 6,000 jobs being created. While this project will benefit Baylor football and the University immeasurably, I believe that Waco and Central Texas will be the greatest beneficiaries. The development of the Brazos River corridor and economic impact of this project will pay dividends for our community for decades to come. The economic impact, increased tax revenue and new jobs will be a major boost for our community. We need to make this project happen for Waco and Baylor, and prepare ourselves for a bright and vibrant future. |
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| J.B. (Southlake): When is the new Baylor Stadium going to break ground? |
| | Ian McCaw: J.B., thank you for the question. We continue to work on raising funds for the project from our donor base and partners in this project. If sufficient funding is in place this summer, Baylor's Board of Regents will determine if the project can begin and move forward with the goal of having the stadium ready for the 2014 football season. |
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| Scott (Coppell): With all this awesome success, how do we keep other schools from coming after our coaches...and AD?! |
| | Ian McCaw: Scott, I prefer to be in a position where we have outstanding coaches and staff who are in demand than the opposite situation. We are fortunate that Baylor has become a destination for coaches and staff who want to compete at the highest level of college athletics, and value a caring, Christian environment and strong academic institution. |
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| Benny Blaize(Mount Pleasant): After this Year of the Bear do you think the football team has done enough to get some Nike Pro Combat uniforms? If so what would they look like. |
| | Ian McCaw: The Year of the Bear has dramatically elevated the Baylor brand and provided widespread benefits to our athletics program. Recently, Baylor football signed an extension with Nike that will afford student-athletes with the best equipment and apparel that is available. I think you will like the 2012 football uniforms. |
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| Paul Williams Plano, Texas: Mr. McCaw you have done a great job at Baylor. They are lucky to have you. As my daddy would say, we will take a hundred just like you. Keep up the good work! |
| | Ian McCaw: Paul, thank you for the kind words ... my check in is the mail. It is a credit to our coaches, staff and student-athletes that we have made such extraordinary progress over the past decade to realize our vision of having the premiere Christian athletics program in the nation. In fact, at this point in time, you could make the argument that Baylor has the best collegiate athletics program in America, period. At our last staff meeting, I reminded everyone that we need to "Stay Humble and Stay Hungry". That is how we became one of the top athletics programs in the country and we will need to maintain this mindset if we hope to remain one of the best. |
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| Paul (McGregor): Name one thing that most fans don't know about from the Year of the Bear. |
| | Ian McCaw: Paul, there has been a lot to celebrate during the Year of the Bear. One fact that we are especially excited about is the growth in Baylor Nation as demonstrated by record attendance. It is especially exciting to see the strong support coming from Waco and Central Texas since we are the community's home team. We had record attendance in football, men's and women's basketball, softball and baseball this year and that is great to see! |
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| Sam (Dallas): What is the status of the 13 year extension of the Big 12 Grant of Rights? |
| | Ian McCaw: Sam, the Big 12 currently has a six-year grant of rights through 2018. The Conference is in the process of extending a television agreement that would result in a 13-year grant of rights through 2025, and we look forward to this agreement being finalized. |
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| | Ian McCaw: Thank you for the great questions and joining us for today's chat. Have a great summer and we look forward to another special year in 2012-13! |
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