Baylor University
Above. Beyond.
SIC EM
Baylor University is one of a kind school to say the least, and athletics, are some of the best of the Big 12 Conference and NCAA Division 1 leagues. Did you know that:
- Baylor is home to four Olympic gold medalists with 10 gold medals accounted for.
- In 2004, the men's tennis team were the NCAA national Champions.
- The Bears have won 10 bowl games and 6 major conference titles.
Why the Bears?
Up until 1914, Baylor did not have a team mascot, mainly due to the fact that their athletics were not yet competing at the national level. On Decmeber 14 of the same year though, President Samuel Palmer Brooks held a student vote to determine what the mascot would be. Out of more than two dozen animals, the students chose the bears over other fierce animals including the buffalo and frog. The first bear to arrive on campus was a gift from Camp MacArthur soldiers in 1917. The current live bears Baylor at all times has live bears living on campus in the habitat they have built. The current bears are named Joy and Lady, named after two wives of past presidents of Baylor.
The Baylor Image
The Year of the Bear
- 2011-2012 was one of the biggest years of Baylor Athletics history. Baylor Bears football team defeated Big 12 rivals TCU (No. 2) and Oklahoma (No. 5) and ended the season at 10-3 ranked at No. 12. Junior quarterbackRobert Griffin III gained recognition throughout the year, his help in leading the team to a win in the 2011 Valero Alamo Bowl contributed to his selection for the 2011 Heisman Trophy and National Player of the Year honors. The men's basketball team started with 17 straight wins en route to a 30-8 season (the best in school history), a berth in the NCAA Elite Eight (its second in three seasons) and a No. 10 final ranking, and the women's basketball team won the program's second national title, becoming the first basketball program – men's or women's – to finish 40-0. Center Brittney Griner was named the National Player of the Year, while Coach Kim Mulkey was awarded National Coach of the Year.