Baylor Bears football

Baylor Bears football
Current season
120px
First season	1896
Athletic director	Ian McCaw
Head coach	Art Briles
	3rd year, 15–22  (.405)
Home stadium	Floyd Casey Stadium
Stadium capacity	50,000
Stadium surface	Synthetic Turf
Location	Waco, Texas
Conference	Big 12
All-time record	541–539–44 (.501)
Postseason bowl record	10–8
Claimed national titles	0
Conference titles	6
Heisman winners	1
Consensus All-Americans	14
Current uniform
Colors	Green and Gold
Fight song	Old Fite
Mascot	Judge
Marching band	The Golden Wave Band
Rivals	Texas Christian University Texas A&M University Texas Longhorns Texas Tech Red Raiders
Website	BaylorBears.com

The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.

Conference affiliations

• 1896–1914: Independent
• 1914–1996: Southwest Conference; Founding Charter Member
• 1996–2010: Big 12 Conference (South Division, 1996–2010)
• 2011–present: Big 12 Conference

History

Baylor University's football team has seen a wide variation in its success through the years, from an undefeated perfect record in 1900 to a 0–10 record in 1969. The Bears were one of the first teams in Texas to begin playing collegate football in 1896. The Bears were considered a power in the old Southwest Conference when it existed between 1914 and 1996.

Initially, the university played its home games on an undetermined field near the university. Beginning in 1905, the team's home games were played at Carroll Field, between the Carroll Science Building and Waco Creek. Baylor did not adopt a mascot (the Baylor Bears) until December 14, 1914, after the completion of the 1914 football season.[2] Additionally, Baylor did not join an athletic conference until 1914 after the conclusion of football season, when it joined the Southwest Conference. Baylor played its first home game against Toby's Business College (located in Waco) in 1899, its first away game on 4 November 1900, at Austin College, and its first neutral-site game against Texas A&M in 1901.

For the 1899 and 1900 seasons, the team was coached by R.H. Hamilton, whose 5–1–1 record was distinguished with never having a losing record; in 1899, Baylor played its first game against Texas A&M, which would become a rivalry, the Battle of the Brazos, with over 100 games played in the series by 2003. W.J. Ritchie coached the 1901 team, leading it to a 5–3 record; in this year, the first games of the Baylor-Texas and Baylor-TCU series were played. Texas Christian University (known as AddRan Male & Female College until 1902) was located in Waco from 1895 to 1910 and was one of Baylor's greatest football rivals until the dissolution of the Southwest Conference in 1995. 1901 also welcomed Baylor's first Thanksgiving Day football game, with a 28–0 win over St. Edwards. J.C. Ewing took control of the team in 1902, and led it to its first losing season, with a 3–4–2 record. R.N. Watts restored Baylor's winning tradition in 1903, with a record of 4–3–1.

No team was fielded in 1906 following a ban opposing the violence of football; along with 1943 and 1944 (during World War II), 1906 is one of three seasons since 1899 that Baylor has not competed in varsity football. Luther Burleson headed the restored football team in 1907, and managed a 4–3–1 record. E.J. Mills led the team for the 1908 and 1909 seasons; their 3–5–0 and 5–3–0 records were notable for the 1908 loss to LSU, and for the world's first "Homecoming" at the 1909 Thanksgiving Day game, which included a concert, parade, and bonfire. To this day, Baylor claims to have the largest homecoming parade in the world

Baylor has many traditions such as the Battle of the Brazos rivalry, the world's first homecoming in 1909, neutral site games at The State Fair of Texas, membership in the historic Southwest Conference, a live bear mascot since 1915 and the Baylor Line. Baylor won the SWC Championship in 1922 and then again in 1924. In 1956 Baylor came close to the SWC title again but came in second and was sent to face the #2 Tennessee Volunteers in the 1957 Sugar Bowl. Baylor defeated Johnny Majors and the #2 Volunteers 13-7. This remains the highest ranked opponent Baylor has ever defeated. The 1924 SWC Championship would be the last for many years until Baylor won it all again in 1974 under the leadership of third year head coach Grant Teaff--who was named national coach of the year that year. Teaff would go on to serve until 1992 leading Baylor to 8 bowl games and two conference championships (1974, 1980) in his 21 years as coach.

Miracle on the Brazos

The 1974 SWC Championship season was one of the most memorable in school history. Baylor had finished in last place in 1973 and had not won the conference in 50 years. Furthermore, coming into the '74 season Baylor had lost 16 consecutive seasons to the University of Texas Longhorns. BU not only won the conference title but defeated the Longhorns, which marked the first time in seven seasons that Texas did not win the SWC. The entire '74 Baylor football season was dubbed the "Miracle on the Brazos" by many sports writers at the time, the name and season have thus become part of Baylor's athletic history.

Recent history

2008 season

Main article: 2008 Baylor Bears football team

Although finishing with only a 2-6 Big 12 Conference record, the season was still an improvement over 2007's season record. The season was highlighted by a non-conference win over Washington St in convincing fashion 45-17, a 38-10 win over Iowa St in Big12 conference play, a 41-21 win over rival Texas A&M, and the emergence of freshman QB Robert Griffin III.

2009 season

Main article: 2009 Baylor Bears football team

The 2009 season was highlighted by a non-conference road win against Wake Forest, and another against two-time defending Big 12 North champions Missouri 40-32, two games that were televised on ABC television. The season fell short of Bears' fans expectations however when starting QB Robert Griffin III was injured in the 3rd game of the year and Baylor finished the season with a 1-7 Big 12 Conference record and a 4-8 overall record.

2010 season

Main article: 2010 Baylor Bears football team

The 2010 season was a breakthrough for the Baylor Bears even though they suffered an early season loss to rival TCU 45-10; they earned an invitation to the Texas Bowl in Houston after finishing the regular season with a 7-5 record. Baylor subsequently lost the Texas Bowl 38-14 to Illinois. In the regular season the Bears victories included Big12 conference wins over Kansas 55-7 and Kansas St 47-42, as well as road wins over Colorado and Texas.

2011 season

Main article: 2011 Baylor Bears football team

Building on the success of the previous year's team, Baylor began the season at home with a 50-48 upset of then #14 TCU, winners of the previous season's Rose Bowl. The Bears won their next two games against Stephen F. Austin and Rice at home, before traveling to Kansas State where they lost a tightly contested game 35-36 to the greatly improved Bill Snyder-coached team. After defeating Iowa State 49-26 at home, the Bears finished October losing two straight on the road at Texas A&M and eventual conference champion Oklahoma State.

The Bears rebounded to finish the regular season with five straight victories including a Homecoming win over Missouri, a 31-30 overtime victory at Kansas in which Baylor tied a school record by overcoming a 21-point deficit in the 4th quarter, and the program's first win over then #5 Oklahoma on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Griffin to Terrance Williams with 8 seconds remaining in the game. Baylor concluded November in Dallas playing against Texas Tech in Cowboys Stadium; although Griffin left the game due to a concussion at the half, backup Nick Florence entered the game to lead the Bears to a 66-42 victory.

The Bears finished the regular season at home with a 48-24 victory over then #22 Texas that propelled the team (9-3, 6-3 Big XII) to the Alamo Bowl with #12 and #15 BCS and AP rankings respectively, and propelled Griffin to the top of the Heisman Trophy voting; he became the first Baylor player to win the award and the first Baylor player since Don Trull in 1963 to factor significantly in the voting.

In the Alamo Bowl, the Bears faced the Washington Huskies in what became the second-highest scoring bowl game in history, and the highest-scoring regulation bowl game ever. Baylor went up 21-7 early in the game, with Griffin throwing for one touchdown and rushing for another. The Huskies roared back with 28 unanswered points, and the teams finished the half with Washington leading 35-24. In the second half, with the defenses showing limited ability to cope with the high-powered offenses led by Griffin and Husky QB Keith Price, the teams traded scores. The Bears overcame the halftime deficit, going ahead for good 60-56 halfway in the 4th quarter, and Baylor RB Terrance Ganaway tacked on a final 43-yard touchdown run. Ganaway finished with 21 carries for 200 yards and 5 TDs, and was recognized as the game's offensive MVP. The victory represented Baylor's first bowl win since a victory in the John Hancock (Sun) Bowl in 1992.

Most recent Season

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 PM	#15 TCU*		Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX	ESPN	W 50–48	43,753
September 17	6:00 PM	#19 (FCS) Stephen F. Austin*	#24	Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX		W 48–0	43,090
September 24	6:00 PM	Rice*	#19	Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX	FSN	W 56–31	40,088
October 1	2:30 PM	at Kansas State	#15	Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Manhattan, KS	ABC	L 35–36	49,399
October 8	6:00 PM	Iowa State	#24	Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX	FSN	W 49–26	41,625
October 15	12:00 PM	at #23 Texas A&M	#24	Kyle Field • College Station, TX (Battle of the Brazos)	FX	L 28–55	87,361
October 29	2:30 PM	at #4 Oklahoma State		Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK	ABC/ESPN2	L 24–59	58,274
November 5	6:00 PM	Missouri		Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX	FSN	W 42–39	40,194
November 12	1:00 PM	at Kansas	#25	Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS		W 31–30 OT	35,188
November 19	7:00 PM	#5 Oklahoma	#22	Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX	ABC	W 45–38	40,281
November 26	6:00 PM	vs. Texas Tech	#18	Cowboys Stadium • Arlington, TX (Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Shootout)	FSN	W 66–42	51,615
December 3	2:30 PM	#22 Texas	#17	Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX	ABC	W 48–24	46,543
December 29	8:00 PM	vs. Washington*	#15	Alamodome • San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl)	ESPN	W 67–56	65,256
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches Poll. All times are in Central Time.

• ^A Game was called at the end of the 3rd quarter due to lightning.

Stadium & Athletic Facilites

Main article: Floyd Casey Stadium

Floyd Casey Stadium in 2005

The Baylor Bears have played their home games at Floyd Casey Stadium, then known as Baylor Stadium, since the facility opened in 1950. Floyd Casey Stadium has a seating capacity of 50,000 and has undergone multiple renovations, most recently in 2005. The Bears, along with the UTSA Roadrunners, are only Division I football teams in Texas to play their games at an off-campus stadium. Prior to the Bears' time at Floyd Casey Stadium, the Bears played at Municipal Stadium (1936–1949), Cotton Palace (1926–1929), and Carroll Field (1906–1925, and 1930–1935). As of the 2011 season, Carroll Field has been the only on-campus home field for the Bears. Baylor University has announced plans for a new on-campus stadium on the north bank of the Brazos River.

Simpson Athletics and Academic Center

The Simpson Center was built in 2009 and provides a 97,000 foot facility to house football operations. The building also houses the 13,500 foot football weight room. The building is built in a classic collegate style matching the red brick southern architectural style of the Baylor University campus and is over three stories tall. It houses the main athletic training room, football team locker room, equipment room, coach's locker room, and a large primary weight room. The Simpson Center also houses academic support rooms for studying and academic work. Equipment for sports and athletic rehabilitation include the new state of the art underwater treadmills built into the Simpson Center.

Jay and Jenny Allison Indoor Football Practice Facility

The indoor full football field is a synthetic field and a full A/C building that allows Baylor athletics to practice in all weather conditions year round.

Current coaching staff

Name	Title	Position Coach
Art Briles	Head Coach	N/A
Phil Bennett	Defensive Coordinator	Defensive Line
Randy Clements	Co-Offensive Coordinator	Running Backs
Brian Norwood	Associate Head Coach	Safeties
Phillip Montgomery	Co-Offensive Coordinator	Quarterback, Runningbacks
Kaz Kazadi	Head S&C Coach	Strength and Conditioning

Championships

Baylor has won six Southwest Conference Championships. Baylor won the 1915 Southwest Conference championship, but the title was later forfeited voluntarily after Baylor discovered that a transfer player was ineligible to have played.

Year	Overall Record	Conference Record	Coach	Conference
1915x	7-1	3-0	Charles P. Mosely	Southwest Conference
1922	8-3	5-0	Frank Bridges	Southwest Conference
1924	7-2-1	4-0-1	Frank Bridges	Southwest Conference
1974	8-4	6-1	Grant Teaff	Southwest Conference
1980	10-2	8-0	Grant Teaff	Southwest Conference
1994†	7-5	4-3	Chuck Reedy	Southwest Conference

† Denotes shared title, x Denotes vacaded title

Bowl games

Baylor has appeared in 5 New Year's Day bowl games and 5 major bowl games.

Season	Date	Bowl	Opponent	Result
1948	January 1, 1949	Dixie Bowl	Wake Forest	W 20-7
1951	January 1, 1952	Orange Bowl	Georgia Tech	L 14-17
1954	December 31, 1954	Gator Bowl	Auburn	L 13-33
1956	January 1, 1957	Sugar Bowl	Tennessee	W 13-7
1960	December 31, 1960	Gator Bowl	Florida	W 13-12
1961	December 9, 1961	Gotham Bowl	Utah State	W 24-9
1963	December 31, 1963	Bluebonnet Bowl	LSU	W 14-7
1974	January 1, 1975	Cotton Bowl Classic	Penn State	L 41-20
1979	December 31, 1979	Peach Bowl	Clemson	W 24-18
1980	January 1, 1981	Cotton Bowl Classic	Alabama	L 30-2
1983	December 31, 1983	Bluebonnet Bowl	Oklahoma State	L 14-24
1985	December 27, 1985	Liberty Bowl	LSU	W 21-7
1986	December 31, 1986	Bluebonnet Bowl	Colorado	W 21-9
1991	December 31, 1991	Copper Bowl	Indiana	L 0-24
1992	December 31, 1992	Sun Bowl	Arizona	W 20-15
1994	December 31, 1994	Alamo Bowl	Washington State	L 3-10
2010	December 29, 2010	Texas Bowl	Illinois	L 14-38
2011	December 29, 2011	Alamo Bowl	Washington	W 67-56
Total	18 bowl games	10–8

Top 25 poll finishes

The Bears have finished in the final season rankings of the AP Poll or Coaches Poll at least 14 times. The AP Poll first appeared in 1934, and has been published continuously since 1936. The Coaches Poll began its ranking with 20 teams in 1950–51 season, but expanded to 25 teams beginning in the 1990–91 season.

Season	AP Rank	Coaches Rank
1949	20	20
1950	N/A	15
1951	9	9
1954	18	N/A
1956	11	11
1960	12	11
1963	N/A	20
1974	14	14
1976	N/A	19
1979	14	15
1980	14	13
1985	17	15
1986	12	13
2011	13	12

College Football Hall of Famers

Two Baylor coaches and six Baylor players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Morley Jennings - Head Coach (1926–1940)
Barton Koch - G (1927–1930)
Hayden Fry - QB (1947–1950)
Jim Ray Smith - T (1950–1953)
Bill Glass - DE (1954–1956)
Larry Elkins - WR (1963–1964)
Grant Teaff - Head Coach (1972–1992)
Mike Singletary - LB (1977–1980)
Thomas Everett - FS (1985–1987) College Football Hall of Fame Inductees

See also: College Football Hall of Fame

Name	Position	Years at BAYLOR	Year Inducted
Morley Jennings	Coach	1926–1940
Barton Koch	Guard	1947–1950	1974
Hayden Fry	QB	1947–1950
Jim Ray Smith	T	1950-1953
Bill Glass	DE	1954-1956
Larry Elkins	WR	1963-1964
Grant Teaff	Coach	1972–1992
Mike Singletary	LB	1977-1980
Thomas Everett	FS	1985-1987

Heisman Trophy

Baylor has had three Heisman Trophy candidates, an award given to the best player in college football, with one candidate winning the trophy.

Season	Player	Place	Votes
1951	Larry Isbell	7th	618
1963	Don Trull	4nd	970
2011	Robert Griffin III	1st	1,687

Rivalries

TCU

Baylor's rivalry with TCU is one of the most played in all of college football. Dating back to 1899, the series record is 50-50-7. The series began while TCU was located in Waco, Texas as a cross-town rivalry with Baylor. Due to their close proximity 23 games were played between 1899 and 1910. A fire in 1910 destroyed the Main Building on the TCU campus and financial incentives from the city of Fort Worth convinced the Board of Trustees to relocate the university to that city. There was a ten year break in the series when the dissolution of the Southwest Conference in 1995 resulted in the two universities joining separate athletic conferences. The series resumed in Waco for Baylor's 2006 home opener. The two schools concluded a home-and-home series in 2007, and have continued their rivalry in Fort Worth in 2010 and Waco in 2011. TCU fans have long held a deep resentment for Baylor getting into the Big 12 Conference ahead of TCU in 1996. This resentment is due to the wide spread rumor that influence from then-Texas governor Ann Richards was the reason. One famous incident in the rivalry was in 1971 when TCU coach Jim Pittman collapsed and died during the actual football game making it the only time in collegate history that a coach ever died while a game was in progess. Both schools will return to being conference mates and yearly football games when TCU joins the Big XII in July 2012.

Last meeting: 2011, Baylor 50 – TCU 48

Texas Tech

Baylor Bears and Texas Tech Red Raiders in action in 2004

The Baylor Bears are Texas Tech's most played opponent with 68 meetings between the teams. Dating back to 1929, the series is 35-32-1 in favor of Texas Tech. Since 2009, the Bears have played Texas Tech on a neutral field the Saturday after Thanksgiving (with the exception of the 2010 game which was played at the Cotton Bowl during the State Fair of Texas). The series between the Bears and Red Raiders will continue to be played on Thanksgiving Weekend. Baylor beat Texas Tech 66-42 at Cowboy stadium in the 2011 matchup. This was Baylor's first victory over Tech since the Big 12 rivalry began in 1995.

Texas

The Bears have played the University of Texas at Austin more than 100 times. The teams were both founding members of the Southwest Conference and the Big 12 Conference. They are also located very close with about 90 miles separating the two colleges.

Last Meeting: 48-24 Baylor

Texas A&M

Main article: Battle of the Brazos

Texas A&M is one of Baylor's oldest rivals as the series dates from 1899 and the two schools are only located 90 miles apart on the Brazos River. Texas A&M holds a 68-31-9 lead in the Battle of the Brazos. The competitive peak of the series was from 1960-1990 when Baylor won 13 games, A&M won 16 games and 2 games ended in ties. During that time 18 of the games were decided by 7 points or less. Last Meeting: 55-28 A&M

Logos and uniforms

Baylor wore a camouflage helmet against Buffalo in 2010 remembrance of the September 11 attacks and to commemorate the armed forces of the United States

Awards

National

• Heisman Trophy

Robert Griffin III, 2011

• Davey O'Brien Award

This award was given to the best college player in the Southwest until 1981, and there after now goes to the best quarterback in college football.

Mike Singletary, 1979

Mike Singletary, 1980

Robert Griffin III, 2011

• Sammy Baugh Trophy

Don Trull, 1962

Don Trull, 1963

• AFCA Coach of the Year

Grant Teaff, 1974

• Jim Thorpe Award

Thomas Everett, 1986

• Ray Guy Award

Daniel Sepulveda, 2004

Daniel Sepulveda, 2006

• Manning Award

Robert Griffin III, 2011-2012

Conference

• Southwest Conference Coach of the Year

Grant Teaff, 1974

Grant Teaff, 1978

• Southwest Conference Player of the Year

Mike Singletary, 1979

Mike Singletary, 1980

Thomas Everett, 1986

Thomas Everett, 1987

• Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year

Robert Griffin III, 2008

• Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year

Robert Griffin III, 2011

Bears in the NFL

As of September 6, 2011, 11 former Baylor players were listed on active NFL rosters:

• Matt Bryant, PK, Atlanta Falcons
• Jason Smith, OL, St. Louis Rams
• Mike Singletary, linebackers coach/Assistant head coach, Minnesota Vikings
• Daniel Sepulveda, P, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Justin Snow, C, Indianapolis Colts
• J.D. Walton, C, Denver Broncos
• David Gettis, WR, Carolina Panthers
• Danny Watkins, G, Philadelphia Eagles
• Phil Taylor, DT, Cleveland Browns
• Mikail Baker, DB, St. Louis Rams (Injured Reserve)
• Jon Weeks, LS, Houston Texans

Consensus All-Americans

1930 Barton Koch, G

1951 Larry Isbell, QB

1956 Bill Glass, G

1963 Lawrence Elkins, E

1963 Don Trull, QB

1964 Lawrence Elkins, B

1972 Roger Goree, DE

1976 Gary Green, DB

1979 Mike Singletary, LB

1980 Mike Singletary, LB

1986 Thomas Everett, DB

1991 Santana Dotson, DL

2006 Daniel Sepulveda, P

2011 Kendall Wright, WR

2011 Robert Griffin III, QB

Future non-conference opponents

Baylor has released a partial list of non-conference opponents for the near future:

2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
vs. Southern Methodist University	vs. University of Louisiana at Monroe	vs. SMU	at SMU	vs. SMU	at SMU
vs. Sam Houston State University	vs. Buffalo	vs. Northwestern State	vs. Lamar	at Rice	vs. UTSA
at University of Louisiana at Monroe	at. SMU	at Buffalo	vs. Rice	vs. Unknown	vs. Duke

See also

• Baylor University football, 1899–1914
• Baylor Bears football (1970–1979)
• Baylor Bears football (1980–1989)

External links

• Official website