Submit your questions for Ian now!
Editor's Note:
We appreciate the overwhelming response we have received to our new feature, Ask Ian, and encourage Baylor fans to continue forwarding their questions and comments. Because of time constraints and the heavy volume of feedback, Ian is not in a position to answer every email. Your ideas are important, though, and all questions submitted are read by Ian. He then selects the questions he wishes to answer in a given week, and prepares his responses which are then posted at BaylorBears.com.
Ian, I was wondering if our new playing surface at Floyd Casey is going to be "wall to wall" or are we planning on leaving the tan border around the perimeter of the field. Personally, I would vote for the former because the outer surface seems to be as hard as concrete which could be a danger to the players, but I would like to find out what your thoughts are on this subject. Thanks.
Jim Wright
Dallas, Texas
Dear Jim:
Thank you for the question about the installation of the new synthetic field surface.
A portion of the "beige surface" can and will be removed as part of this project. However, we cannot remove the entire surface due to the manner in which the drainage was installed six years ago unless we are prepared to incur considerable expense and delay the project.
With that, we do plan to paint the "beige surface" green in order to better blend in with the field surface. We expect to have the project completed in time for spring football practice in mid-March.
Thank you for the excellent question.
Ian
Ian, Why has Baylor chosen to use black uniforms??? I am in great concern with this and feel like as Baylor we should stand proud with Green and Gold. What are your thoughts on the uniforms and why were they chosen? Thanks for your time.
Parker Willis
Houston, Texas
Dear Parker:
Actually, we are conducting a fan poll at BaylorBears.com asking fans for their preference of using the color black in Baylor uniforms. As of this writing, the poll is running with 50 percent in favor of using black, 40 percent opposed and 10 percent without an opinion. My sense is that this issue is somewhat divided among generational lines with students and our younger fans favoring the contribution that the color black makes from a fashion standpoint.
Thank you for the question.
Ian
Ian, Can you talk about the excitement generated by having so many ranked teams on campus? I can't remember when the last time was that we had so many of our teams ranked so high.
Tom
Waco, Texas
Tom,
This is a great observation and certainly we are enjoying some very positive momentum at this time. The success and these rankings are a credit to the outstanding coaches and student-athletes that we are fortunate to have at Baylor. Currently, eight Baylor programs are ranked among the nation's Top 35, and a ninth squad, the Bears' women's cross country team, finished the 2003 season ranked 14th nationally and earned a spot in the NCAA Championships.
The women's basketball team is 16-4 and ranked 16th nationally. Baseball will open its season ranked 11th by Collegiate Baseball. The softball team received votes in the pre-season poll that translate to a ranking of 34th nationally. The defending Big 12 champion men's tennis begins the year with the highest ranking in school history for any Baylor team at No. 2. The women's tennis team is also defending its Big 12 championship and ranked 32nd nationally. The men's and women's track and field teams are off to a strong start and ranked 13th and 16th, respectively. Finally, he women's golf team will open its season ranked 35th in the country.
It will be exciting to follow Baylor Athletics throughout the remainder of the year!
Ian
Ian, First, I would like to express an opinion. Personally, I think that it looks better to have the name of the school in the end zone. Now, for my question and comment. Several years ago, part of the student section was designated as the "card section" and would flash different messages during the game. Has any thought been given to reinstating that as a way to get students back to the football games?
John G. Ferrell
Hurst, Texas
John,
Thanks for your input on the field design. A majority of fans have expressed interest in having Baylor in the end zone, while some prefer the checkerboard that was used this past year. One of the positive features of the new synthetic surface is that the field markings will be permanently cut into the field as opposed to being painted on prior to games. As a result, the Stadium will appear in game condition throughout the year.
We are working with student groups and organizations to determine ways to increase student attendance and create more enthusiasm at the stadium. It is clear that we want to offer more interactive opportunities for students.
Ian
Ian, Welcome, and I appreciate all of the positive things you have brought to Baylor thus far.
Last year and this year, we backed out of previously scheduled football road games, and replaced them with home games. While I completely understand the reasons Coach Morriss made these changes, is there a concern that the immediate positives are potentially outweighed by the negative impact to our reputation, and the strain on our relationships with other schools?
David Christian
Waco, Texas
David,
This is another very good question.
Coach Morriss and I share a common scheduling philosophy. At this stage in the development of the Baylor football program, we need to schedule in a manner similar to Kansas State. We need to balance the competitive level of the schedule with the non-conference games given the strength of the Big 12 South.
Unfortunately, Baylor has some future games scheduled that do not meet the criteria that we have for non-conference scheduling. With that, we will seek appropriate and reasonable opportunities to make changes that better align the schedule with our philosophy.
At the same time, as you point out, we want to be sensitive to the future scheduling needs of other schools and provide advance notice to allow them to also accomplish their scheduling goals.
Ian
Ian, Thanks for your enthusiasm in your approach to what needs to be done to further enhance Baylor's athletic program. Are changes being considered to upgrade the quality of our sports broadcasts? Keep up the good work.
Tom Carpenter
Humble, Texas
Tom,
I appreciate your interest in Baylor's radio broadcasts. We view this as an important service to our fans and marketing opportunity for our athletic programs. Moreover, please know that we are always seeking ways to improve the broadcast network as well as the quality of game production.
I have had an opportunity to listen to portions of our football, men's and women's basketball broadcasts to date and recognize the dedication of our broadcast teams. All of the professionals involved in our broadcasts are deeply devoted to Baylor and making their best effort to contribute to the quality of the broadcast.
Sic 'em Bears!
Ian
Ian, Congratulations and best of luck as our new athletic director. As a second generation graduate, foundation member and lifetime supporter of Baylor University in general and Baylor football, I cannot tell you how frustrating it is for those of us who would like to personally attend more of the football games but are not able to do so because of, what I consider to be, very short-sighted scheduling and starting times.
For the life of me I cannot understand why at least half of our home games (to include at least half of our Big 12 conference schedule and the Homecomming game) cannot played at night. Furthermore, playing at night does not in my opinion mean starting the game prior to 7:00 P.M. Because of this type of scheduling, past Homecomming activities such as the Homecomming parade have been forced to start as early as 8:00 A.M. on a Saturday morning to permit a late morning or early afternoon kick-off.
While I understand that there are situations involving televisions broadcasts that might cause the starting times to change but surely this does not apply to the entire schedule. Is there anything you can do to help us in this regard?
Gregory A. Shumpert
Terrell, Texas
Gregory,
Thank you for the excellent question.
As you know, if a home Baylor football game is selected for television, our broadcast partners have the ability to select the time slot for the game by way of their Big 12 contracts. This will typically result in an 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. CST kickoff.
In games that are not selected for television, Baylor has traditionally played afternoon games beginning at 1:00 p.m. and night games at 6:00 p.m. with the annual Homecoming game scheduled for 2:00 p.m. I have not heard much criticism about starting times for football games, however, we are interested in conducting some fan surveys to learn more about preferences.
I appreciate your support!
Ian
Dear Ian, Are their any plans to honor the seniors before or during the last home basketball game? Thanks and keep up the hard work.
Brad Allard
Burleson, Texas
Brad,
Thank you for the question and good wishes.
We will be honoring the seniors on both the men's and women's basketball teams at their final home games. The final men's game is on March 3 against Kansas State. The women's last home game is on February 28 against Texas A & M. Each of these individuals has made a strong contribution to Baylor Athletics and we are appreciative of their efforts.
I appreciate the excellent batch of questions that we received this week!
Ian
