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| Director of Athletics Ian McCaw will chat live with fans Wednesday, Dec. 22 at 11 a.m. CST. |
Ian McCaw assumed the leadership of Baylor's 17-sport, Big 12 intercollegiate athletics program on Sept. 8, 2003.
Baylor enjoyed one of its most comprehensively successful years in 2003-04 including winning the first NCAA team championship in school history along with five NCAA individual titles. The men's tennis team captured the NCAA team championship, while Benjamin Becker won the NCAA men's singles title, Jeremy Wariner won the NCAA indoor and outdoor 400 meter titles and the 4x400-meter relay team captured the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships.
Baylor had 10 teams advance to 2003-04 NCAA postseason competition including women's cross country, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, women's basketball, softball, men's and women's golf and men's tennis. An 11th Baylor program, women's tennis, had an individual participate in the national championships. In the final NACDA Cup rankings, Baylor finished 47th, and seven of its programs were ranked in the nation's top 25 at season's end.
A five-year strategic plan for intercollegiate athletics was developed and implemented inclusive of department goals and objectives. Issues relating to the student-athlete experience, enhanced program competitiveness, equity, diversity, rules compliance, sporting conduct, external support, facility improvements and long-term financial stability were addressed.
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Ian McCaw: Good morning and welcome to the Chat. |
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| Austin (Chiang Mai): What exactly are the plans for Floyd Casey's renovation over the next few years? |
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Ian McCaw: Austin,
We announced on Monday that we will be completing the second phase of the Grant Teaff Plaza beginning in January and to be completed prior to the start of the 2005 season. The renovation will include wrought iron fencing around the stadium along with the same brick work and paving that is currently on the west side of the stadium.
In addition, we will be making improvements to the roadways, parking areas, adding landscaping and ticket areas. In addition, we will add signage and graphics to improve the aesthetic appearance at Floyd Casey Stadium. |
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| Austin (Chiang Mai): Are there any strategies in place to increase the attendance and overall game experience at FCS next year? |
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Ian McCaw: Austin,
You may be keeping me busy this morning.
Our marketing staff has already begun to develop plans to enhance our game day experience and marketing outreach for football next year. In fact, we had a football focus group meet last night and discussed ways to improve school spirit, concessions, touchdown alley and stadium amenities.
In addition, we are excited about how well football recruiting is going and looking forward to Coach Morriss' team playing an exciting brand of football and enjoying a highly successful year! |
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| Jeff (Philadelphia): What is the status of the Grant Teaff Plaza construction? Will it be extended around the entire stadium in time for the 2005 season? Also, will the undersides of the east side of the stadium be overhauled as the west side was a year or two ago (upgraded bathrooms, etc.)? |
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Ian McCaw: Jeff,
Congratulations on your wedding. I hope all is well for you in Philly.
As I mentioned above, the project will begin in January and will include the encircling of the stadium with the fencing and brick work that is on the west side. To date, we have more than $600,000 of private funds commited to the project and are seeking additional funds in order for the project to address all important ammenities in order to enhance the fan experience such as ticket areas, improvements to concessions, better signage, restrooms, etc.
We want all Baylor fans to contribute at the level they are comfortable by calling Doug Smith at 254-710-3650 or Walter Abercrombie at 254-710-8150. Thank you! |
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| CA: What are you doing to assure that Kim will not leave Baylor? I have heard that she has a contract but not signed it yet. Baylor and Waco needs to do all in their power to assure she stays no matter what.
Thanks for your leadership. |
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Ian McCaw: Thank you for the question. As you probably know, I do not comment on the status of coaches contracts and consider them to be private personnel matters.
Coach Mulkey-Robertson is an exceptional coach and along with her staff and student-athletes has a first class women's basketball program in every respect.
We afford her program strong support and enjoy a great relationship.
The best way for fans to express support of Coach Mulkey-Robertson and the Lady Bears is to buy season tickets, go to the Ferrell Center to support the team and join the Tip Off Club. You can receive information on all the above by calling 254-710-1000.
Lady Bear basketball is among the best entertainment values you will find! |
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| Waco: Congratulations on all Baylor's success this past year. I am a graduate student at Baylor with an assistantship that pays for only 6 hours of credit per semester, which my department considers full time. I know the minimum for grad students is 9 hours in order for students to be allowed into athletic events and to be involved in intramurals. We still pay the general student fee, so why are we excluded from being able to support our sports teams and discouraged from interacting with undergraduates? Is there a way we could at least get a discount? Thanks for your time. |
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Ian McCaw: Waco,
Thanks for the question. We just answered it in the last Ask Ian session and are working with senior administration to support a plan that will allow access to games for graduate and professional school students. Stay tuned! |
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| Matt (Coppell): Do we have any new info on the new athletic logos that the Ohio firm is putting together? |
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Ian McCaw: Matt,
We continue to work with Rickabaugh graphics in developing an updated set of athletic identifiers. The project has taken longer than we expected in part due to holding two focus group sessions that allowed us to get feedback from students, student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and fans. We are closing in on the final product and expect to have a new Bear logo to unveil early in the new year. |
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| Jeff (Dallas): Hi Ian,
I appreciate the opportunity to "chat" with you.
There seems to be many financial needs in our athletic department (practice facility for football, practice facility for basketball, upgrade of Floyd Casy Stadium, etc.). How successful have our fundraising efforts been since you've been here as AD?
How optimistic are you that we'll be able to get these projects funded in a timeline that will be pleasing to our coaching staff?
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Ian McCaw: Jeff,
At this time, we have two capital projects that have been approved by the Board of Regents for fundraising. The Grant Teaff Plaza project has private support in excess of $600,000 to date and we are hoping to reach at least $1 million. The other approved project is the Student-Athlete Learning Center. To date, about $200,000 has been raised for that project that will cost several million dollars.
In addition, we have been taking soundings with prospective donors for the on-campus football practice facility and basketball practice facilities. We have had a number of significant expressions of support that would be in the range of $8 million towards these projects in total.
Baylor alumni and friends have been very generous and we deeply appreciate their strong support! |
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| Roy Letbetter (The Woodlands): Thank you for your hard work this year! The Bears are on the rise in all sports and it is fun to watch. I see Baylor athletics being heading in directions that I never thought possible. My question has to do with former Baylor athletes, have you considered having all of the great former Baylor athletes coming together during a football weekend and being available to fans for autographs. Former all-americans, Olympic medalist, etc. You could market this across the country. It would also be a great recruiting tool. |
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Ian McCaw: Roy,
Thank you for the question and your support! I believe that all 18 of our sports have outstanding leadership and are pointed in the right direction.
Walter Abercrombie is doing an excellent job as our Executive Director of the B Association and is strengthening our relationships with former players. We have had a number of successful events this fall including Legends being recognized at football games, a letterwinner day and a highly successful Hall of Fame event. We are fortunate to have his leadership in this area and look forward to even greater involvement on the part of our former players. |
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| Fred Barber - Lubbock: Ian my question concerns the completion of the Grant Teaff Plaza. Will you install the pavers under the grandstands where the asphalt is now. It seems to me that it would give the stadium a more completed look. Of course, I know everything is dependant on how much funding is available. Thanks for all of your hard work and your willingness to listen to the fans. |
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Ian McCaw: Fred,
The I Believe Walkway will extend around the stadium and include both asphalt and pavers/bricks similar to the west side. Fans and former players may purchase a personalized paver for $1,000 or brick for $500 in support of this project by contacting either Doug Smith or Walter Abercrombie.
Thank you for the kind words! |
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| Jim (Dallas): For the fans who couldn't be at the forum held yesterday, what were some of the issues that were discussed? |
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Ian McCaw: Jim,
The fan forum was very successful. Among the issues discussed were the following:
We should look into an inexpensive gold t-shirt for students that we design and sell for cost and encourage them to wear to games.
Night starts are preferred.
Tone down pre-game music.
The band could be improved with some new arrangements being included in their presentation.
Improved flow on East side with GTP project.
Promote tailgating.
Improve ease of students accessing tickets.
We appreciate the interest and support of these fans! |
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| B.T. (Alamo City): Is it possible that future fan forums could be held outside the city of Waco? I believe you could access a better sample of Baylor fans and alumni by reaching out to Texas' larger metropolitan areas. |
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Ian McCaw: B.T.
It is difficult to have our marketing staff travel to various locations to hold this type of event. However, we do enjoy receiving feedback from fans throughout the State and would welcome comments at Ask Ian on baylorbears.com. |
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| Jean-Marc (Montreal): How does it feel and what does it mean to you to see those 28 student athletes getting their degree??? |
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Ian McCaw: Jean-Marc,
Thanks for the question. We are excited about today's chat going international.
We are extremely proud of the academic performance of Baylor student-athletes. Our record-setting NCAA graduation rate of 78 percent leads the Big 12 conference and is higher than the general student population at Baylor.
It is very gratifying for student-athletes to graduate at such a high rate and it demonstrates that we uphold strong academic values at Baylor. These results are a credit to our coaches, academic support staff and most importantly, our student-athletes. |
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| Brian (Coppell): Ian,
Will there ever be an area designated for alums to tailgate like the students? |
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Ian McCaw: Brian,
That was part of last night's discussion at the fan forum. We are interested in enhancing the game day experience for fans and it is clear that a desirable tailgating area is attractive to many fans. We will be exploring possibilities in the coming months. |
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| Robert (Dallas): What is the status of the football practice facility to be built on campus and well as the renovation and expansion of the basketball dressing rooms? |
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Ian McCaw: Robert,
The on-campus football practice facility project has not been approved by the Board of Regents at this time. However, as I mentioned above, we have taken soundings from a number of prospective supporters of this project and have received a good measure of interest.
The men's basketball locker room is nearly completed and is beautiful. Thank you to those who have contributed towards this project. |
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| Matt (Arlington): How have the basketball problems affected recruiting in other sports? |
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Ian McCaw: Matt,
Thanks for the question and your support.
In my view, all of our coaches are recruiting at a very high level and that bodes well for the future of Baylor Athletics.
One would expect that men's basketball would be most adversely affected by these problems, and they have recruited beyond what we should be able to expect. Coach Drew is in the process of putting together a Top 10 recruiting class. Baylor Bear basketball will be a program to be reckoned with in the Big 12 very soon! |
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| John-Houston: Good morning-
Will there be any efforts to bring home and home series in all sports with the fine institutions of Rice and houston. There are many alumn in Houston that would love to come out and support the Bears versus these two former SWC foes.
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Ian McCaw: John,
We compete against Rice and Houston in a number of sports and certainly value bringing our teams to Houston. It is a critical market to us in terms of alumni interest, development, media exposure and recruiting. I expect that you will be seeing even more of the Baylor Bears in Houston than you have in the recent past. |
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Ian McCaw: This year has been a very special one for Baylor Athletics, perhaps one of our best ever. We have accomplished a great deal including winning a national championship in men's tennis, having 10 teams advance to NCAA post-season competition, leading the Big 12 in NCAA graduation rates, as well as several extraordinary individual honors including Olympic gold medals, and national player and coach of the year awards. These accomplishments would not be possible without the strong support of loyal alumni and fans like you. Thank you for all that you do for Baylor Athletics!
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! |
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