Champions' TriBUne Archive

By: Mike McGraw           

Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. In this special edition, Baylor men's golf head coach Mike McGraw tells about getting fired at another school and the things that led him to Baylor. Now in his sixth year at Baylor and 15^th as a Division I head coach, McGraw has led the Bears to four NCAA Championship appearances, including a match-play berth in 2017. McGraw, who won a national championship at Oklahoma State in 2006, recently signed a contract extension at Baylor through at least 2026:

On June 20, 2013, Oklahoma State Director of Athletics Mike Holder came to my office to talk. I suspected it was more than a cordial visit as he was not prone to small talk and cordial visits. Somehow, I already knew my fate.

Only three weeks earlier, I had returned from a very disappointing NCAA Championship appearance, where my Cowboy golf team had made five bogeys on the last two holes to miss making the match play portion of the event. In April, we placed second in the Big 12 Championship to Texas. Also, following Nationals, we had finished the season ranked 12^th in the country.

For most schools, that would have been considered a successful season, but not at tradition-rich OSU. In 67 seasons, OSU had won 10 national championships and been the runner-up another 16 times, along with winning an astounding 54 conference championships. Only once in those 67 seasons had an OSU team failed to advance to the NCAA Championship – sadly it was under my leadership in 2012.

Therefore, I knew Coach Holder's visit wasn't to shoot the breeze. Mike turned to me and said, "Mike, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to make a change. I'm going to have to let you go."
I realize there are far greater tragedies in life. After all, hundreds of coaches are fired every year around the country across all sports. This wasn't a hardship reserved for me only. Nonetheless, after eight seasons as the head coach of the No. 1 program in the country, I was unceremoniously being asked to leave. I had never been fired before. It was a figurative, if not literal, punch in the gut.

What had caused me to lose that job? Was it unfair and unreasonable expectations? No, I knew the expectations when I took the job. Was it poor talent? No, because three of the five players on my 2013 team at OSU would go on to earn full status on either the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour. Was it bad luck? No, I don't believe in that. I believe in personal responsibility and accountability. Because I was the man in charge, I was responsible for those results.

The simple answer was the job had become too important to me. It had become all-consuming, and each week I lived or died by the results. My players could sense my desperation. They felt the pressure, and their performance showed it. The job got between me and my relationship with God, and I was no longer an effective coach … or an effective Christian leader.

So, while Mike Holder's news was a shock to my system, it was almost as if God was telling me that if I would trust Him, He would lead me to a better situation, one where I could use the talents I had been given to help young men grow and achieve their dreams. But, I had to trust Him.

Since my termination wouldn't be announced for two more days, I decided prayer should occupy my time. I knew two things: 1) Prayer works and 2) God is bigger than any career setback I could ever experience. So, the stress of where I would continue my career was lifted. After two days of prayer and thought, I was at peace with any outcome regarding my coaching situation.

Literally 45 minutes after my firing was put on the Internet, I received a call from my dear friend, Jay Seawell, at the University of Alabama. Jay's team had won the school's first NCAA Golf Championship a week earlier and his assistant coach (Rob Bradley) had just taken a job at Purdue. Jay had an opening, and he was offering.

Was that an answer to prayer? You better believe it was, and I accepted his offer immediately. I could sense that Jay would offer me much more than just a job. He offered good Christian fellowship. He offered an opportunity to stay "in the game," thereby remaining relevant in the world of college golf. He offered a place to refresh my mind, my soul and my heart. He offered a welcoming place for my wife, Pam. Finally, he offered me a chance to revive my career.

During that year, I began a season of reflection and self-evaluation like I had never done before, doing a daily journal I called "Stuff That Works." This was much more than just writing down notes about significant things I learned in my career. It was a daily reminder that I had an impact on players' lives during my first 27 years in coaching, and that my coaching was making a difference. These daily affirmations strengthened me and brought back my enthusiasm for coaching, something that had waned in recent years. It also reminded me that God was in charge, and He would provide a place for me to continue my coaching career. Once again, I just needed to trust Him.



As fate would have it, both the current Alabama team I was coaching and my former OSU team were on a collision course and would meet in the final match at the NCAA Championship at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kansas. In a hard-fought battle, Alabama prevailed that day. I cried for both teams.

A week later, having been offered the job at a major Division I program, I was putting the finishing touches on the Alabama Golf Camp when I got a call from then-Baylor University Director of Athletics Ian McCaw. "Mike," he said. "Greg Priest has accepted a position with Tyler (Texas) Public Schools and we are looking for a new men's golf coach. I am calling to see if you would have an interest in the job here at Baylor." I told him I was interested in the job, and he agreed to bring me down to interview.

Was that also an answer to prayer? Absolutely! Several things about Baylor were appealing to me. For one, coaches are encouraged to share their faith. I had always worked at public institutions where it wasn't allowed. It would be a return to the Big 12 Conference, something that felt comfortable to me. My wife is from Houston, so she would be close to her family. I liked living in the geographical center of a state that annually produces some of the best junior golfers in the county. I liked the climate. I accepted Ian's offer and haven't regretted a single day.

Building a Culture – It Begins with People
I inherited a great group of young men from Greg Priest. They went to class, made good grades, graduated and were respectful in every way. Half of these players, however, were from overseas. My initial thought was that there are so many good players in the state of Texas that I would begin doing most of my recruiting in Texas in order to build a nationally competitive team. I have held true to this. In fact, two of my current freshmen, Tyler Isenhart (Illinois) and Scout McNealy (California) are the first two non-Texas recruits in my first five recruiting classes at Baylor.

The philosophy was simple – if I recruit more locally, there would be less homesickness, no language barriers and no real cultural barriers. These players would have all competed against each other growing up, they would likely be friends and they would have similar backgrounds. Most importantly, they would attract future Texas prospects. By recruiting locally, I would also have a better opportunity to get to know the prospect and his family, so assessing character, work ethic and other important factors would be much easier. This seemed the best way to add players to fit the culture I was trying to develop. As evidenced by the following conversation, I feel it has been working.



In the summer of 2017, I was having dinner with a sales representative for a major golf equipment company when he said, "Coach McGraw, I want you to know that you had the best team at the National Championship last month." I thanked him, but also reminded him that we lost our quarterfinal match with Oklahoma, the eventual champion. We also finished the season ranked fifth in the country. "Thank you, but we were definitely not the best team," I told him.

"I think you misunderstood me, Coach. I meant that in addition to being really good players, your guys also had the most class, competed hard and treated volunteers and others so well. It's hard to compete at such a high level and still be so congenial. Your team is so well-respected. You should be really proud of your boys." Hearing this meant a great deal to me and reminded me that our culture here is strong. He could have handed me the NCAA trophy right then and there and it wouldn't have meant more to me than his comments about our players.

Humbled by Generosity
On my first day in Waco, I requested a list of anyone who had donated to the golf program within the previous 10 years, and I decided to write hand-written letters to as many of these people as I could before our team returned in August.

More than 100 people received a letter and dozens responded. My goal was to begin making connections, meet as many Baylor Golf supporters as possible and share my thoughts about what we could accomplish here at Baylor in Men's Golf. Ultimately, I needed them to hear my vision of building an on-campus practice facility, something desperately needed to compete for top prospects. The previous facility was a 21-minute drive from campus and had only artificial greens.

One such connection I made was with former Baylor football letterman Billy W. Williams, who had already given to numerous campus projects. He loved Baylor and had backed this up with generous contributions. He and I exchanged several letters and even met in my office when he was in town for a football game. He told me if the project ever materialized, I should give him a call.

I began by convincing Ian McCaw we needed the facility in the first place. I told him the facility would be a huge benefit in recruiting but, perhaps more importantly, it would have a great impact on the quality of life for our student-athletes. It would allow them to work more efficiently and maximize the very limited "extra" time they had available each day. He liked that idea. In early October, Ian told me the University earmarked a 20-acre parcel of land adjacent to the Baylor Equestrian Center for a future golf practice facility. Funding this facility became my new focus.

Armed with that information, I reached out to Billy, and he told me he would be in Waco soon to discuss. On a cool February morning, Billy and I stood on the south end of the property when he told me he would like to fund half of the project, whatever the eventual cost would be. I was overwhelmed and extremely grateful by Billy's offer.

Former Baylor quarterback Nick Florence was put in charge of the fundraising, and I immediately put Nick on speed dial. Nick helped make introductions of numerous Baylor supporters who wanted to be involved. It should be noted that without Nick's help and guidance, the project would never have become a reality.  

Because of the incredible generosity of so many, our athletes have a great place to train and practice every day. For that, I am thankful.

I am now 5 ½ years into my career at Baylor, and I can safely say that I love coaching now more than ever. My obsession with results has diminished, and I no longer go into a "funk" when my team doesn't play well. I pray that my players can sense this new-found perspective. This must be more than words, and my actions should reflect my change of heart and my faith.

Another huge benefit to being at Baylor is that we care about the person more than the athlete and back this up with our mission of Preparing Champions for Life. Again, this is more than just words. There is a true emphasis on building character in our athletes while also competing for championships. To me, that is a unique and very healthy combination.

During my time at Baylor, we have had some success in recruiting, national rankings, strength of schedule, fundraising, facilities and other areas, but I really believe the best is yet to come. I believe this by faith, however, I don't stress about how or when success happens. Please don't mistake my attitude for a lack of competitiveness or softness. I still have a strong desire to build championship teams and work every day to help make this happen. The difference will be putting God first, instead of the results. It is a very big difference, like night and day.

Finally, I have been inspired by Mack Rhoades' leadership of this athletics program over the past three years, and I am so grateful for the way he has supported our efforts. He is just another reason I was excited to recently sign a contract extension to remain Baylor's head coach through at least 2026. My plan is to finish my career as a Baylor Bear.

There is no doubt in my mind that I am a better coach because of my time at Baylor, and I'm thankful for the many relationships I've developed with players, fellow coaches, donors, administrators and others. Baylor has made me a better person, and I couldn't be more excited about the future here in Waco.

Sic 'em Bears!



Previous Champions' TriBUne Features
Volleyball - Yossiana Pressley (Dec. 5, 2019)
Baseball - Nick Loftin (Nov. 21, 2019)
Men's Cross Country - Ryan Day (Nov. 1, 2019)
Women's Cross Country - Lindsay Walton (Oct. 15, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Obim Okeke (Oct. 1, 2019)
Volleyball - Gia Milana (Sept. 17, 2019)
Soccer - Raegan Padgett (Sept. 5, 2019) 
Football - Sam Tecklenburg (Aug. 29, 2019)
Men's Golf - Cooper Dossey (July 11, 2019)
Baseball - Richard Cunningham (June 27, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Jimmy Bendeck (June 14, 2019)
Baseball - Shea Langeliers (May 30, 2019) 
Women's Track & Field - Kiana Horton (May 22, 2019)
Men's Golf - Garrett May (May 9, 2019)
Women's Golf - Maria Vesga (May 2, 2019)
Acrobatics & Tumbling - Camryn Bryant (April 25, 2019)
Equestrian - Shannon Hogue (April 16, 2019)
Women's Tennis - Angelina Shakhraichuk (April 9, 2019) 
Women's Basketball - Lauren Cox (March 22, 2019)
Men's Track & Field - Wil London (March 7, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Jake Lindsey (March 4, 2019)
Softball - Nicky Dawson (Feb. 21, 2019)
Baseball - Josh Bissonette (Feb. 14, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Will Little (Jan. 31, 2019)
Men's Basketball - King McClure (Jan. 17, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Chloe Jackson (Jan. 3, 2019)
Football - Blake Blackmar (Dec. 13, 2018)
Volleyball - Braya Hunt (Nov. 29, 2018)
Soccer - Jackie Crowther (Nov. 16, 2018)
Women's Cross Country - Alison Andrews-Paul (Nov. 8, 2018)
Football- Ira Lewis (Nov. 6, 2018)