BAYLOR THROUGH & THROUGH
9/30/2025 2:52:00 PM | General, Athletic News
Joel Allison gives back to Baylor because it ‘did so much for me’
For Joel Allison, Baylor University has been like a love affair that's lasted a lifetime.
A native of tiny New Bloomfield, Mo., Allison remembers coming to Waco on a football recruiting visit during his senior year at Jefferson City High School.
"I was walking around campus and fell in love," said Allison, who also had interest from Kansas State, Missouri, Wake Forest and Army. "The people were kind, friendly, and this was such a great place. They offered me an athletic-academic scholarship right there on the spot. There wasn't anything to think about. I told them, 'I'd love to come to Baylor.' The scholarship is the only way I could make it. So, that's how I ended up coming to Baylor."
Nearly 60 years later, his love of Baylor has never waned or wavered. After 45 years in healthcare administration, including the last 17 ½ years as CEO for Baylor Scott & White Health, Allison served as chairman of the Baylor Board of Regents and is a senior advisor with the Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership.
"If I'm being honest with you, I just love Baylor," said Allison, now 77. "I feel like Baylor did so much for me during my four years. I found my calling in life in the ministry of healthcare. It gave me a great education. I met my late wife (Diane) of 55 years on a blind date the first semester of my freshman year. And I was blessed to meet lifelong friends who have given me guidance and served on boards that I've served."
As a first-generation college student, Joel said he "didn't know anything about college life." And while the football team struggled, going 0-10 during his senior year in 1969 under first-year coach Bill Beall, it gave him structure, discipline and boundaries.
"Otherwise, I'm not sure how I would have handled it," he said. "I didn't know anybody, a kid from Missouri. Most of the folks around me were great teammates, but they're all from Texas, and they knew each other.
"But because of the football program and having teammates that became truly lifelong friends, I was just grateful that I had the help in doing my admissions, getting my classes, working a schedule. And it helped me stay disciplined on my studies, because I needed to keep my scholarship. I realized that this is what I need."
Other than football and meeting his wife, Joel's favorite memories at Baylor included learning to sing, "That Good Ol' Baylor Line," going to the Homecoming parade and All-University Sing, pledging Alpha Phi Omega and living in Martin Hall with all the other athletes, where "Ms. Wilhelm was like everybody's mother. She loved her athletes."
He also remembers the "Aggie Sticks" and "Frog Sticks" that were used to guard the campus during Homecoming week, "so they couldn't get on campus."
"There were just so many memories, mostly with the people that you met," he said. "That's what you remember. And yes, we had some bad seasons in football, but you learn a lot there, too."
Moving back to Waco in 2017 when he retired, Joel supports all the Baylor sports, across the board. If there's an athletic event, he's likely there.
"I love Baylor and love being in Waco, and I love all the sports," he said, "because I believe we have probably the best group of head coaches anywhere in the country. They're developing young men and women, not just their physical skills and their athletic talent, but helping them in their spiritual life and becoming future spouses and parents. I love the program, and I love our coaches. So, anything I can do to support that is meaningful to me, because I want to give back."
That love of Baylor and athletics is a perfect match for his new wife, Lisa, a Baylor grad and retired school counselor who moved back to Waco to be closer to her family. They were married August 9.
Joel and his first wife, Diane, were close friends with Lisa's sister and brother-in-law, but he had never met Lisa until the Thanksgiving weekend last fall, when they ended up going to the Baylor football game against Kansas, a "Victory Brunch" at the Baylor Club and the women's basketball game versus Louisiana Tech.
Through Tip Off Club luncheons and coffee dates, "I found out she is a huge Baylor sports fan. She knows sports better than I do. And being a Baylor grad, she loved Baylor," Joel said.
"I knew that if I was ever going to have another relationship, one, they had to be a strong Christian. And two, they had to love Baylor sports. She's been a joy, and God has been good. He's blessed us, because we had to know that God was in this."
A Championship Club member of the Bear Foundation, Joel said he believes "it's about Baylor being a Christian institution. And I'll be there with them as long as that's first and foremost."
A native of tiny New Bloomfield, Mo., Allison remembers coming to Waco on a football recruiting visit during his senior year at Jefferson City High School.
"I was walking around campus and fell in love," said Allison, who also had interest from Kansas State, Missouri, Wake Forest and Army. "The people were kind, friendly, and this was such a great place. They offered me an athletic-academic scholarship right there on the spot. There wasn't anything to think about. I told them, 'I'd love to come to Baylor.' The scholarship is the only way I could make it. So, that's how I ended up coming to Baylor."Nearly 60 years later, his love of Baylor has never waned or wavered. After 45 years in healthcare administration, including the last 17 ½ years as CEO for Baylor Scott & White Health, Allison served as chairman of the Baylor Board of Regents and is a senior advisor with the Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership.
"If I'm being honest with you, I just love Baylor," said Allison, now 77. "I feel like Baylor did so much for me during my four years. I found my calling in life in the ministry of healthcare. It gave me a great education. I met my late wife (Diane) of 55 years on a blind date the first semester of my freshman year. And I was blessed to meet lifelong friends who have given me guidance and served on boards that I've served."
As a first-generation college student, Joel said he "didn't know anything about college life." And while the football team struggled, going 0-10 during his senior year in 1969 under first-year coach Bill Beall, it gave him structure, discipline and boundaries.
"Otherwise, I'm not sure how I would have handled it," he said. "I didn't know anybody, a kid from Missouri. Most of the folks around me were great teammates, but they're all from Texas, and they knew each other.
"But because of the football program and having teammates that became truly lifelong friends, I was just grateful that I had the help in doing my admissions, getting my classes, working a schedule. And it helped me stay disciplined on my studies, because I needed to keep my scholarship. I realized that this is what I need."
Other than football and meeting his wife, Joel's favorite memories at Baylor included learning to sing, "That Good Ol' Baylor Line," going to the Homecoming parade and All-University Sing, pledging Alpha Phi Omega and living in Martin Hall with all the other athletes, where "Ms. Wilhelm was like everybody's mother. She loved her athletes."
He also remembers the "Aggie Sticks" and "Frog Sticks" that were used to guard the campus during Homecoming week, "so they couldn't get on campus."
"There were just so many memories, mostly with the people that you met," he said. "That's what you remember. And yes, we had some bad seasons in football, but you learn a lot there, too."
Moving back to Waco in 2017 when he retired, Joel supports all the Baylor sports, across the board. If there's an athletic event, he's likely there.
"I love Baylor and love being in Waco, and I love all the sports," he said, "because I believe we have probably the best group of head coaches anywhere in the country. They're developing young men and women, not just their physical skills and their athletic talent, but helping them in their spiritual life and becoming future spouses and parents. I love the program, and I love our coaches. So, anything I can do to support that is meaningful to me, because I want to give back."
That love of Baylor and athletics is a perfect match for his new wife, Lisa, a Baylor grad and retired school counselor who moved back to Waco to be closer to her family. They were married August 9.
Joel and his first wife, Diane, were close friends with Lisa's sister and brother-in-law, but he had never met Lisa until the Thanksgiving weekend last fall, when they ended up going to the Baylor football game against Kansas, a "Victory Brunch" at the Baylor Club and the women's basketball game versus Louisiana Tech.
Through Tip Off Club luncheons and coffee dates, "I found out she is a huge Baylor sports fan. She knows sports better than I do. And being a Baylor grad, she loved Baylor," Joel said.
"I knew that if I was ever going to have another relationship, one, they had to be a strong Christian. And two, they had to love Baylor sports. She's been a joy, and God has been good. He's blessed us, because we had to know that God was in this."
A Championship Club member of the Bear Foundation, Joel said he believes "it's about Baylor being a Christian institution. And I'll be there with them as long as that's first and foremost."
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