Baylor College

Baylor University

Motto	Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana. (Latin)
Motto in English	For Church, For Texas.
Type	Private
Established	1845
Religious affiliation	Baptist
Endowment	$1.144 billion (2016)
President	David E. Garland (Interim)
Provost	L. Gregory Jones
Academic staff	1250
Students	16,787 (Fall 2015)
Undergraduates	14,189 (Fall 2015)
Postgraduates	2,598 (Fall 2015)
Location	Waco, Texas, United States 31°32′55″N 97°07′00″W / 31.54861°N 97.11667°W / 31.54861; -97.11667Coordinates: 31°32′55″N 97°07′00″W / 31.54861°N 97.11667°W / 31.54861; -97.11667
Campus	Urban ("College town") 1,000 acres (4.0 km2)
Colors	Green and Gold
Nickname	Bears & Lady Bears
Mascot	Judge Joy & Judge Lady (live bears) Bruiser (costumed)
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I – Big 12
Website	www.baylor.edu

Baylor University (BU) is a private Baptist university in Waco, Texas. Chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas, it is the oldest continuously-operating university in Texas and one of the first educational institutions west of the Mississippi River in the United States. It is among the largest Baptist universities in the world. The university's 1,000-acre campus is located on the banks of the Brazos River next to I-35, between the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Austin. Baylor University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, but is currently on accreditation watch following a sexual assault scandal in its football program.

Baylor University's athletic teams, known as the Bears, participate in 19 intercollegiate sports. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference in the NCAA Division I.

In 1841, 35 delegates to the Union Baptist Association meeting voted to adopt the suggestion of Rev. William Milton Tryon and R.E.B. Baylor to establish a Baptist university in Texas, then an independent republic. Baylor, a Texas district judge and onetime U.S. Congressman and soldier from Alabama, became the school's namesake. Some at first wished to name the new university "San Jacinto" to recognize the victory which enabled the Texans to become an independent nation, then before the final vote of the Congress, the petitioners requested the university be named in honor of Judge R. E. B. Baylor.