Baylor Bears football | |||
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First season | 1898 | ||
Athletic director | Mack Rhoades | ||
Head coach |
Matt Rhule 1st year, 0–0 (–) |
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Stadium | McLane Stadium | ||
Year built | 2014 | ||
Seating capacity | 45,140 | ||
Field surface | Field Turf | ||
Location | Waco, Texas | ||
NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
Conference | Big 12 | ||
All-time record | 588–557–44 (.513) | ||
Bowl record | 12–11 (.522) | ||
Conference titles | 9 | ||
Heisman winners | 1 | ||
Consensus All-Americans | 16 | ||
Current uniform | |||
Colors | Green and Gold |
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Fight song | Old Fite | ||
Mascot | American Black Bear, Costumed (mascot) Bruiser | ||
Marching band | The Golden Wave Band | ||
Rivals |
TCU Horned Frogs Texas Longhorns Texas Tech Red Raiders Texas A&M Aggies SMU Mustangs |
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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. After 64 seasons at the off-campus Floyd Casey Stadium, the Bears opened the new on-campus McLane Stadium for the 2014 season.
Baylor University's football team has seen a wide variation in its success through the years, including an undefeated 3-0 perfect record in 1900.
Initially, starting in the year 1898, the university played its home games on an undetermined field near the university campus. 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 the football season, when it became a founding member of 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, and lost, its first game against Texas A&M, which would become a rivalry (until 2012 when Texas A&M changed conferences), 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. The 1901 season also welcomed Baylor's first Thanksgiving Day football game, with a 28–0 win over St. Edward's University. 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.