Kansas 35   Baylor 17     10.38 Minutes Left in Game
Baylor 36   Kansas 35     0.0 Game Over

Man, was Saturday a great Homecoming or what?

The Bears staged an improbable comeback in the fourth quarter to beat a very good Kansas Jayhawk team.  Down 18 points with but 10 minutes to play, quarterback Shawn Bell took his game to a new level, sparking the Bears to three fourth-quarter touchdowns and a huge Big XII victory.  A couple of interceptions, together with a porous defense in the first half, had BU fans mumbling to themselves (best case) prior to the resurrection.  A lone hand made “I Believe” sign waved by a Baylor student across the stadium was the only reflection of hope until the never-say-die Bears started their run.

Baylor receivers Trent Shelton and Dominique Zeigler made unbelievable catches during the three touchdown drives in the 4th quarter while Shawn Bell totaled a school record five touchdown throws!

Here is what all this means: Baylor won their first homecoming game since 1997; we now have three conference wins for the first time ever in the Big XII; the Bears are two wins away from Bowl eligibility.  With five conference victories the Bears can expect to be treated very well in the Bowl selection process.  The Baylor vs. A&M game this weekend in Waco is the most important game in years.  Let’s be sure “The Floyd” is full of noisy Baylor fans!

Congrats to Coach Morriss, his staff, the courageous Baylor football team, to QB Shawn Bell for refusing to quit...and to the unidentified Baylor student with the “I Believe” sign.

Baylor Bears Picking up Scent of Bowl

Baylor vs. SMU and Playboy

Is it possible the comparison between the Baylor and SMU bids for the George W. Bush Presidential Library may have taken on a new “values” dimension when Baylor effectively precluded Playboy from shooting at Baylor and SMU effectively folded, thereby facilitating Playboy’s effort to photograph SMU co-eds?  Every time Playboy tries to do a “Women of the Big XII” feature and Baylor resists, applications at Baylor go up the following year.  As the success of Baylor 2012 has already demonstrated, families still appreciate universities that embrace traditional values and high moral standards.  Could that make a difference to the folks in Washington who are choosing where the next presidential library will be built?

Speaking of Ponies...

Baylor officially opened the Willis Family Equestrian Center on Friday.  Coach White and her riders performed before an enthusiastic crowd that included Dr. Lilley as well as members of Baylor’s Board of Regents.  The Equestrian Center is a marvel to behold and just a short trip down University Parks Drive from the Ferrell Center. Friends of Baylor Steering Committee member F.M. Young donated the land for the project. Coach White predicted a National Championship for the Lady Bears in the near future.  That could cause some crowded National Championship signage problems along University Parks with tennis and women’s basketball already displayed.  Perhaps we need to start consolidating and dating all of our National Championship teams on our signs.  Problems, problems, problems.........

Friends of Baylor and Homecoming

The Friends of Baylor Steering Committee enjoyed a glorious view of the Baylor Homecoming parade from the balconies of Clifton Robinson’s downtown offices on Saturday.  Following the parade the Steering Committee chaired by Cary Gray held a business meeting that included updates on Baylor 2012 progress from Dr. Don Schmeltekopf and Dr. Richard Scott as well as an update on the Presidential Library Bid by Baylor’s best salesperson ever, Tommye Lou Davis.  Coach Paul Mills gave the group a quick update on men’s basketball and thanked the Nell and Jim Hawkins, Sue and Ted Getterman, Rhondy Gray and Dary Stone families for their naming donations to the Whetsel Practice facility. 

Two key issues emerged from the 2012 discussions: 1. There is competition in fundraising between the need to increase the endowment to $2 billion (a stated priority of President Lilley) and the capital project needs (on-campus residential, football practice facility, various academic departmental projects, etc.).  2.  The key role that faculty have in executing Baylor 2012 and therefore how hiring practices, orientations and tenure decisions affect 2012’s progress.

Tommye Lou shared the fabulous materials that the University has assembled as part of the Library bid including video testimonials by Anne Graham Lotz and Orel Hershiser.
Coach Paul Mills, impressed by Tommye Lou’s passion, said that he thought basketball recruiting was tough until he saw what it took to “recruit a President”. 

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