Sept. 17, 2007

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GAME FOUR

BAYLOR (2-1) at BUFFALO (1-2)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 22, 2007 • 5:00 P.M. CDT

UB STADIUM (29,013)

BUFFALO, N.Y.

SERIES RECORD

            First Meeting

COACHES

            BAYLOR:  Guy Morriss (TCU, 1973)

                        Record at Baylor:  17-32 (5th season)

                        Career Record:  26-46 (7th season)

                        Record vs. Buffalo:  0-0

            BUFFALO:  Turner Gill (North Texas, 1990)

                        Record at Buffalo:  3-12 (2nd season)

                        Career Record:  3-12 (2nd season)

                        Record vs. Baylor:  0-0

BAYLOR/ISP RADIO NETWORK

            John Morris, play-by-play

            J.J. Joe, color analyst

            Ricky Thompson, sideline

            Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 161

INTERNET FEEDS

            www.BaylorBears.com

BAYLOR TRAVELS TO BUFFALO

            Baylor returns to action Saturday, Sept. 22, traveling to the Empire State for its final non-conference game of the 2007 season at the University at Buffalo. Kickoff between the Bears and the Bulls is scheduled for 5 p.m. CDT at UB Stadium on the Buffalo campus.

            The Bears (2-1) are coming off a 34-27 victory over Texas State last Saturday night at Floyd Casey Stadium. Baylor eyes its first road victory of the season this week at Buffalo. The Bulls (1-2) dropped a 45-24 decision at 12th-ranked Penn State last Saturday afternoon. Buffalo plays its first home game of the season Saturday against Baylor.

BAYLOR-BUFFALO SERIES

            This is the first-ever meeting between Baylor and Buffalo in football. Buffalo is scheduled to visit Floyd Casey Stadium Sept. 11, 2010.

BAYLOR vs. MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

            Baylor is 1-0 all-time against teams currently playing in the Mid-American Conference. The Bears defeated Bowling Green 38-0 Sept. 12, 1981, at Floyd Casey Stadium.

BEARS HISTORICALLY SUCCESSFUL IN SEPTEMBER

            Baylor is 119-61-2 all-time in September, including an 11-6 mark under head coach Guy Morriss. The Bears have posted an above-.500 record in three of Morriss' first four seasons.

            The Bears have played at least one game within the year's ninth month each season since 1933. Baylor's first September game was a 17-5 loss to Trinity College in Dallas during the 1902 season. The Bears won 23 consecutive September games from 1927 to 1946 and 18 conseuctive September contests from 1950 to 1961.

            Baylor has played at least three September games and gone winless only twice, going 0-3 in 1978 and going 0-4 in 1999. Interestingly, the Bears' two September ties came in consecutive weeks during the 1975 season -- a 10-10 draw at home against Auburn and a 14-14 dead-heat at ninth-ranked Michigan.

BAYLOR-TEXAS A&M GAME SELECTED FOR NATIONAL BROADCAST

            Baylor's 2007 Big 12 Conference opener Sept. 29 at Texas A&M has been selected for national broadcast on the Versus Network. Kickoff between the Bears and the Aggies is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CDT at Kyle Field in College Station.

            This marks Baylor's first-ever appearance on the Versus Network (formerly the Outdoor Life Network). The Versus Network is available in Waco on Time Warner Cable channel 125 and on Grande Cable channel 23.

            Baylor is 37-68-2 all-time in televised games, including a 2-15 mark during head coach Guy Morriss' tenure. This is the first time the Baylor-Texas A&M game has been televised since 2005, a 16-13 Aggies' victory in overtime.

QUICK NOTES

•  Baylor is 19-13-5 all-time when 2-1; however, the Bears have lost three straight such games.

•  Baylor is 11-6-3 all-time when 2-1 following a win and 2-3 all-time when 2-1 with a two-game winning streak.

•  Baylor is 119-61-2 all-time in September, including an 11-6 mark under head coach Guy Morriss.

•  Baylor is 46-23-1 all-time on the fourth Saturday of September, including a 7-3 mark on Sept. 22.

•  Baylor has forced at least one turnover in 23 of the last 26 games, including 15 games with at least two turnovers forced in that time.

•  Baylor's defense has held the opposing offense without a first-quarter touchdown in 16 of the last 25 games, including 13 first-quarter shutouts in that time.

•  Baylor has out-scored its opponents 35-7 in the first quarter through three games this season.

•  Baylor has scored 76 points in its last two games, its most in a two-game span since scoring 76 against SMU (28) and Samford (48) to open the 2005 season.

•  Baylor ranks eighth nationally and second in the Big 12 Conference with 355.0 passing yards per game.

•  Baylor has been flagged 16 times for 129 yards through this season's first three games. Last year, the Bears were penalized 27 times for 260 yards through the first three games.

•  Baylor's defense has logged nine quarterback sacks through the first three games of the 2007 season after recording only 11 sacks in 12 games last year.

•  QB Blake Szymanski has thrown for at least 200 yards in four consecutive games, tying Don Trull for the second-longest streak all-time at Baylor.

TRIPS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI NOTHING NEW FOR BAYLOR

            Saturday marks Baylor's third trip east of the Mississippi River in head coach Guy Morriss' five-year tenure. Baylor won at Army in 2005 and lost at UAB in 2004; the latter was the Bears' first trip east of the Mississippi since a 30-29 overtime loss at Boston College to start the 1999 season.

            However, Baylor has routinely traveled east through the years. The Bears are 25-40-2 all-time in games played east of the Mississippi, including a 5-3 mark in bowl games.

            Baylor's first game east of the Mississippi was a 48-0 loss at Louisiana State in 1907. Three of Baylor's first such four games were at Louisiana State; the other was at Tulane. In fact, Baylor has played at Louisiana State more often than any other east of the Mississippi location. The Bears are 1-6 all-time at Louisiana State and also defeated the Bayou Bengals 21-7 in the 1985 Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tenn. Baylor also has played at Miami, Fla., five times (2-3), at Georgia four times (0-4) and at Tulane four times (1-3).

            The Bears lost their first eight games east of the Mississippi before an 18-0 victory at Loyola (La.) in 1932. Baylor went 12-6-1 from 1932 to 1965 in regular-season games games east of the Mississippi before sustaining a seven-game losing streak that started with a 7-0 loss at Syracuse in 1967. The Bears lost nine consecutive regular-season games east of the Mississippi from 1978 to 1993, a streak that ended with Baylor's 14-0 win at North Carolina State in 1995.

            Including bowl games, Baylor has played 14 games east of the Mississippi River in Louisiana (Baton Rouge and New Orleans). The Bears have played 10 games in Florida, seven games in Georgia and five games in Alabama. Baylor also has played in Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania four times each; in Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee three times each; in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Ohio twice each; and in Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi and South Carolina once each.

BAYLOR-BUFFALO CONNECTIONS

•  Baylor assistant coach Don Wnek and Buffalo assistant head coach Danny Barrett both were assistant coaches with the B.C. Lions of the CFL during the 1998 season.

•  Buffalo head coach Turner Gill, a Fort Worth, Texas, native, has faced Baylor six times previously, all as an assistant coach (once at SMU and five times at Nebraska).

•  Buffalo has five Texans on its roster:  S Alan Hayes (Houston-Northland Christian), WR Terrell Jackson (Temple), RB Brandon Thermilus (Flower Mound-Marcus), CB Joshua Thompson (Cedar Hill), QB Ed Young (Fort Worth-Eastern Hills). Thompson was a high school teammate of three current Baylor players:  LB Chris Francis, OL John Jones and DE Geoff Nelson.

WHITAKER EYES RECEPTIONS MARK

            RB Brandon Whitaker enters the Buffalo game five receptions shy of cracking Baylor's career receptions top 10 list; he has 71 career catches for 392 yards and two touchdowns.

            Whitaker also needs six receptions to tie Jeffrey Murray's school record for career receptions by a non-receiver. Murray tallied 77 receptions as a fullback from 1986 to 1989. Whitaker has recorded 30 receptions in each of the past two seasons. He established career highs with nine receptions for 57 yards at Washington State last season.

SZYMANSKI ALREADY NEARING SEASON TOUCHDOWNS LIST

            With 11 touchdown passes through the season's first three games, QB Blake Szymanski already is nearing Baylor's all-time, single-season touchdown passes list. Szymanski's next scoring toss would put him in a tie with Don Trull (1963), Neal Jeffrey (1973), Cody Carlson (1983) and Shawn Bell (2005) for seventh place on Baylor's all-time list.

            Szymanski already has established a Baylor record for touchdown passes by a sophomore. His next scoring pass would tie Carlson's 1983 school mark for touchdown passes by an underclassman.

            Through the season's first three games, Szymanski is on pace for 328 completions, 4,156 passing yards and 44 touchdown passes, all of which would shatter Baylor's single-season records.

INSIDE RECEIVERS FEAST

            Inside and slot receivers have accounted for 42.5 percent of Baylor's receptions this season (37 of 87), 45.3 percent of Baylor's receiving yards (482 of 1065) and 36.4 percent of Baylor's touchdown receptions (4 of 11).

            Baylor's top two receivers in all three categories are inside receivers.  Brad Taylor leads the team in receptions (13) and yards (210), while Justin Akers ranks second in both receptions (11) and yards (147). Taylor and Akers are tied for the team lead in touchdowns (2). SR Justin Fenty is tied for third on the team in receptions (9) and fifth in yards (99). IR Kyle Mitchell also has three catches for 19 yards, and Eddy Newton has one reception for seven yards.

SZYMANSKI TURNS IN ANOTHER HIGH-POWERED HALF

            QB Blake Szymanski passed for 246 yards in the first half of Saturday's game against Texas State, ranking as the fifth-best single-half total and the third-best first-half total in school history. The performance came one week after Szymanski established both records with 280 yards in the first half against Rice.

            Szymanski joined Neal Jeffrey as the only players in Baylor history to pass for at least 230 yards in a half twice. Jeffrey did so once in each half. Szymanski has seen most of his first-half success in the first quarter, completing 27 of 40 passes for 383 yards and five touchdowns in the opening quarter over the last two games.

            Here is a list of the eight performances in Baylor history where a quarterback logged at least 230 yards passing in a half:

                DATE                             PLAYER                        OPPONENT          LOCATION                            FIRST             SECOND       TOTAL

                Sept. 8, 2007                Blake Szymanski         Rice                        Waco, Texas                         280                 132                 412

                Oct. 27, 1984                Tom Muecke                TCU                        Fort Worth, Texas                275                 87                   362

                Oct. 22, 2006                Shawn Bell                   Kansas                  Waco, Texas                         137                 257                 394

                Nov. 3, 1973                 Neal Jeffrey                  TCU                        Waco, Texas                         85                   251                 336

                Sept. 15, 2007              Blake Szymanski         Texas State           Waco, Texas                         246                 165                 411

                Oct. 5, 2002                  Aaron Karas                 Kansas                  Waco, Texas                         120                 239                 359

                Nov. 19, 1966               Terry Southall               SMU                       Dallas, Texas                       117                 233                 350

                Oct. 13, 1973                Neal Jeffrey                  Arkansas               Waco, Texas                         230                 112                 342

FIRST-QUARTER DEFENSIVE SUCCESS CONTINUES

            Baylor's defense allowed just 57 first-quarter points in 12 games last season, averaging 4.8 points per game allowed in the opening period. Two of the seven first-quarter touchdowns allowed by the Bears last season were scores by the opponent's defense, meaning Baylor's defense allowed only 3.6 first-quarter points per game. The Bears' defense allowed only six first-quarter touchdowns (two of which were followed by missed extra points) and one field goal. No team scored more than one offensive touchdown, only two scored more than once -- Texas Tech (offensive touchdown and field goal) and Oklahoma (offensive and defensive touchdown).

            That success has carried over to the 2007 season as the Bears have allowed only one first-quarter score through the first three games. Baylor held TCU and Texas State scoreless in the opening period and allowed one first-quarter touchdown against Rice.

            In 25 games since the 2005 season opener at SMU, Baylor has held the opponent without a first-quarter offensive touchdown 16 times with 13 first-quarter shutouts. Texas Tech last season is the only opponent to record more than one first-quarter offensive score during that time. Baylor has not allowed multiple first-quarter offensive touchdowns since UAB scored three first-quarter touchdowns in the 2004 season opener, a span of 36 games. The Bears have held the opponent without a first-quarter offensive touchdown 20 times and scoreless 15 times in those 36 games.

NOTES FROM THE TEXAS STATE GAME

•  Baylor improved to 13-0 all-time against Football Championship Subdivision (former Divsion I-AA) opponents.

•  Baylor's passing yardage total (412) was the second-best, single-game total in school history, trailing only last week's 423-yard performance against Rice.

•  QB Blake Szymanski became the first player in Baylor history to record five-plus touchdown passes twice, doing so in consecutive weeks.

•  Szymanski joined Shawn Bell (2004 vs. Texas A&M, 2005 vs. Kansas) as the only players in school history with multiple games with four-plus touchdown passes.

•  Szymanski joined Bell (at Texas, vs. Kansas, 2006) as the only Baylor quarterbacks to record back-to-back 300-yard passing games.

•  Szymanski is the fourth Baylor quarterback to record multiple 300-yard passing games in the same season. Bell (2006), Cody Carlson (1986) and Neal Jeffrey (1973) are the other three.

•  FB Keegan Vann's first-quarter touchdown reception was the first touchdown of his career.

•  WR Krys Buerck made his first career start.

•  Buerck's second-quarter touchdown reception was the first touchdown of his career.

•  Buerck established career highs with seven receptions and 85 yards receiving.

•  Buerck's fourth-quarter kickoff return was the first of his career.

•  RB Jay Finley's fourth-quarter touchdown reception was the first touchdown of his career.

•  WR Brad Taylor established a career high of 85 yards receiving.

•  ROV Dwain Crawford established a career high with 11 total tackles.

•  FS Jordan Lake established a career high with 10 total tackles.

•  WR David Gettis' return of the game's opening kickoff was the first of his career.

•  WR Earl Patin's second-quarter kickoff return was the first of his career.

BEARS HAVE 20/20 VISION

            In four-plus seasons under head coach Guy Morriss, Baylor has established a bit of a vicenary rule on the scoreboard. The Bears are 15-11 when scoring at least 20 points and 2-21 when scoring less than 20 points since the start of the 2003 season. Likewise, the Bears are 10-3 when holding the opponent to fewer than 20 points and 7-29 when allowing 20 or more points in that time.

BAYLOR TURNS OVER A NEW LEAF

            Baylor ranked 113th nationally in turnover margin and forced just nine opponent miscues over the 11-game 2004 campaign, but the last two-plus seasons it has reversed that trend. The Bears' defense has forced 60 turnovers (33 interceptions, 27 fumble recoveries) since the start of the 2005 season to rank fourth in the Big 12 and tied for 17th nationally among Division I-A teams in that span. Baylor has come up with at least one turnover in 23 of 26 games since the start of the 2005 season, including 15 games with two or more.

            Baylor forced 34 turnovers over 23 games in Guy Morriss' first two seasons, compared to the 60 it has totaled over the last 26 outings. Here's a look at the teams with most turnovers forced over the last three seasons:

TURNOVERS GAINED                      2005       2006       2007       TOTAL  

     1.     TCU                                          40           26           7              73

     2.     Louisiana Tech                       31           29           10           70

     3.     Texas                                        27           32           8              67

     4.     Boston College                       18           37           11           66

     5.     Florida                                      31           29           5              65

     6.     Oregon                                     32           22           10           64

             Western Michigan                  25           34           5              64

     8.     Louisiana-Monroe                 26           34           3              63

             Southern California               38           22           3              63

             Southern Mississippi             34           25           4              63

             Oklahoma                                23           32           8              63

     12.  Boise State                              26           31           5              62

             Nevada                                    23           37           2              62

             South Florida                          30           25           7              62

             West Virginia                           31           24           7              62

             Missouri                                   24           28           10           62

     17.  BAYLOR                                  29           27           4              60

             Georgia                                    29           30           1              60

     19.  Miami (Ohio)                           35           22           2              59

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

            Baylor has recorded 14 non-offensive scores in 48 games under head coach Guy Morriss, notching at least one such score in each of Morriss' four seasons.

• 2003 vs. UAB -- James Todd blocked punt for safety

• 2003 vs. Colorado -- Jamaal Harper 7-yard fumble return (forced by Derrick Cash)

• 2003 at Kansas -- James Todd blocked punt recovery in end zone (blocked by Michael Boyd)

• 2003 at Kansas State -- Robert Quiroga 98-yard kickoff return

• 2003 vs. Texas Tech -- Robert Quiroga 100-yard kickoff return

• 2003 vs. Oklahoma State -- Willie Andrews 30-yard fumble return (forced by John Garrett)

• 2004 vs. Texas State -- Justin Crooks 9-yard fumble return (forced by Montez Murphy)

• 2004 vs. North Texas -- Braelon Davis blocked punt recovery in end zone (blocked by Davis)

• 2004 vs. Iowa State -- Braelon Davis defensive PAT (interception return)

• 2005 vs. Samford -- Jamaal Harper 29-yard fumble return (forced by Colin Allred)

• 2005 vs. Samford -- Shaun Rochon 85-yard punt return

• 2005 at Oklahoma -- Shaun Rochon 98-yard kickoff return

• 2005 vs. Oklahoma State -- Colin Allred 25-yard interception return

• 2006 vs. Oklahoma -- Braelon Davis 56-yard fumbler return (forced by Davis)

FORMER WALK-ONS EARN SCHOLARSHIPS

            Six senior walk-on members of the Baylor football team were awarded scholarships for the 2007-08 academic year:  OG Ricky Hasoon, LB Daniel Lopez, CB Ralph Rodriguez, OL Ted Tanner, SS Zach Jones and FB Keegan Vann.

            At the end of spring practice, the Baylor staff also placed junior WR Thomas White on scholarship. Including the seniors receiving scholarships prior to the start of the season, Baylor's 2007 roster features eight walk-ons who have earned scholarships.

            Since Morriss' arrival in 2003, 30 Bears have gone from walk-on to scholarship status.

2007 CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED

            Senior RB Brandon Whitaker, senior DS Jonathan Weeks and sophomore LB Joe Pawelek were elected 2007 Baylor football team captains. The trio was elected by their teammates.

            A three-year letterman and the team's offensive captain, Whitaker will enter his senior season 317 yards shy of becoming the 28th Bear to rush for 1,000 or more career yards. He was Baylor's third-leading receiver in 2006 with 30 receptions for 192 yards and one touchdown.

            Baylor's 2007 special teams captain is another senior, Weeks, who joined the program as a walk-on long snapper in 2004 and has gone on to handle those chores for the Bears in 30 of the last 34 games. He was rewarded for his special teams work with a scholarship by the Baylor staff in January 2005.

            Pawelek will captain the Bears' defense as a sophomore after earning freshman All-America honors in 2006. He led the Bears in tackles with 86 stops (46 solos), while playing in every game with 10 starts as a rookie en route to 2006 Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors from multiple media outlets.

BAYLOR AMONG NATION'S BEST COLLEGES

            Baylor University ranks as the nation's 75th-best institute for higher learning, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2008 "America's Best Colleges" edition. Baylor is ranked third among Big 12 Conference schools, trailing only Texas (44th) and Texas A&M (62nd). Last year, Baylor was the fourth-ranked Big 12 school but leap-frogged Colorado (79th) in this year's rankings.

            Other Big 12 schools ranked were:  Iowa State (t-85th), Kansas (t-85th), Missouri (t-91st), Nebraska (t-91st), Oklahoma (108th) and Kansas State (124th). Oklahoma State and Texas Tech were considered "third tier" schools and were, therefore, not ranked numerically.

AFCA SALUTES BAYLOR FOR GRADUATION RATE

            Baylor was one of 34 NCAA Division I-A schools to have its football program honored with the 2007 Academic Achievement Award by the American Football Coaches Association.

            In the most-recent AFCA survey, four institutions registered graduation rates of 90 percent or more for their 2001-02 freshman football class, including Northwestern and Notre Dame, which earned top honors from the Touchdown Club of Memphis with their 95 percent marks.

            Baylor joined Big 12 schools Nebraska, Texas and Texas Tech among the 32 institutions who received honorable mention recognition with a graduation rate of 70 to 90 percent. Baylor also was recognized in the AFCA's 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006 surveys.

2007 SCHEDULE FEATURES EIGHT 2006 BOWL TEAMS

            After playing seven of 12 games a year ago against teams that went on to earn bowl invitations, Baylor will face eight 2006 bowl teams this season, including six of its eight Big 12 opponents. But, that's nothing new for coach Guy Morriss' program, as 28 times in his first 46 games (including 25 of 32 Big 12 contests) along the Baylor sideline he's faced an opponent who ended the season in a bowl game. 

            The Bears' 2007 opponents combined for an 85-67 (.559) record a year ago and eight earned bowl bids -- TCU (Poinsettia champion), Rice (New Orleans), Texas (Alamo champion), Kansas State (Texas), Texas A&M (Holiday), Texas Tech (Insight champion), Oklahoma (Fiesta) and Oklahoma State (Independence champion). Baylor's eight 2007 Big 12 foes went 60-43 (.583) a year ago and recorded all three of the league's bowl wins.

            Six of Baylor's eight losses in 2006 came at the hands of eventual bowl-bound teams while it knocked off Texas Bowl participant Kansas State, 17-3, and bowl-eligible Kansas, 36-35.

            Over Morriss' four seasons in Waco, his teams have tackled the nation's 55th- (2003), sixth- (2004), 28th- (2005) and 49th- (2006) most-difficult schedules according to the NCAA.

FAMILY AFFAIR

            The Bears' 2007 roster includes the sons of six former Baylor football standouts, three of whom were All-Americans during their Baylor careers. True freshmen Matt Singletary, V.J. McElroy and Chris Francis join three other sons of Baylor legacies already in the program--sophomore offensive guard Sam Sledge, redshirt freshman receiver Ben Randle and sophomore running back Tony Anderson, who must sit out the season as a transfer from I-AA Southeast Missouri State.

            Singletary's father, Mike, was a three-time All-American and two-time Davey O'Brien Award winner who is enshrined in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame after standout playing careers at Baylor and with the NFL's Chicago Bears. McElroy's father, Vann, was a two-time All-America defensive back at Baylor who went on to play in two Pro Bowls with the NFL's Los Angeles Raiders. The younger Francis' father, James, earned 1989 All-America and Southwest Conference Player of the Year honors and was a first-round NFL Draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals.

            David Sledge was an All-Southwest Conference performer for the Bears in 1978. Alfred Anderson, the third-leading rusher in school history, and Ervin Randle, an eight-year NFL veteran with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs, were Baylor teammates in the early 1980s.

FOOTBALL OPERATIONS HEADED TO CAMPUS IN 2008

            Ground was broken May 10, 2007, on the Alwin O. and Dorothy Highers Athletics Complex and the Simpson Athletics and Academic Center, a $34 million complex that will integrate the Baylor athletics department and football program into the campus environment for the first time since the late 1950s.

            The lead gift for the privately funded project and the largest single gift in school history is from the estate of Alwin O. Highers Jr. of Alexandria, La. A native Texan and a 1939 Baylor business graduate, Mr. Highers was well known as the owner of Alexandria's Dr Pepper Bottling Co. He also was a dedicated supporter of Baylor athletics and in particular its football program, until his death in 2003. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, who still resides in Alexandria.

            The focal point of the Highers Athletics Complex will be the 96,300-square-foot Simpson Athletics and Academic Center, which will be built on University Parks Drive adjacent to Baylor's Mayborn Museum Complex and the university's other athletic facilities that are part of the Julie and Jim Turner Riverfront Athletic Complex on the Brazos River.

            A Baylor University graduate and generous Baylor supporter, Bob R. Simpson is a co-founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of XTO Energy Inc. of Fort Worth. His leadership at XTO has been recognized by numerous publications, including Barron's ("30 most respected CEO's in the world," March 27, 2006), Oil & Gas Explorer ("Executive of the Year," March 2006), Institutional Investor ("Best CEOs," January 2006), BusinessWeek ("The BusinessWeek Top 50 Performers," April 2006) and Forbes ("2,000 Leading Companies in the World," April 17, 2006).

            Simpson earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance, with magna cum laude honors, in 1970 and his MBA in 1971.

            The first floor of the Simpson Athletics and Academic Center will include functions that are currently housed at Floyd Casey Stadium, such as a main athletics training room, equipment room, football team locker room, coaches' locker room and weight room. Floor two will hold administrative offices, the football office and meeting rooms, as well as an academic center which will benefit all Baylor student-athletes.

            The Highers Athletics Complex will include three football practice fields, two with a natural surface and the other with artificial turf. Construction will take approximately 18 months and is expected to be completed by July 2008.

OVER THE AIR

            Bear football games can be heard live on the Baylor/ISP Sports Radio Network. The network includes nine affiliates across Texas, including flagship stations ESPN KRZI-AM (1660) in Waco. All Baylor games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, a veteran broadcaster with 21 years' experience in the Baylor broadcast booth and in his 13th season as the signature voice of Baylor Athletics. Former Baylor football standouts J.J. Joe (color analyst) and Ricky Thompson (sideline reporter) complete the broadcast team.

BAYLOR/ISP SPORTS FOOTBALL RADIO NETWORK

Abilene                                  KYYW-AM              1470

Amarillo                                 KIXZ-AM                940

Big Spring                             KBST-AM              1490

Houston                                 KKHT-FM              100.7

Dallas/Fort Worth                 WBAP-AM             820

Jacksonville                          KXAL-FM               100.3

Lubbock                                KJAK-FM               92.7

Lufkin                                     KYBI-FM                101.9

Waco (Flagship)                  KRZI-AM                1660 ESPN

BAYLORBEARS.COM

            Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the College Sports TV network. CSTV currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including four Big 12 schools and the conference office.

BAYLOR GAMES ON THE INTERNET

            The radio call from all of Baylor's games can be heard free of charge live on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com.

INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW

            Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, will air weekly throughout Central Texas and other outlets. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6 (Sunday, 11 p.m. CT), Fox Sports Southwest (Wednesday, 1 p.m. CT), College Sports Television (Friday, 4 p.m. CT) and the College Channel (Waco cable 18).

UP NEXT ...

            Baylor returns to action Saturday, Sept. 29, traveling to College Station, Texas, to open Big 12 Conference play against Texas A&M. Kickoff between the Bears and the Aggies is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CDT at Kyle Field on the Texas A&M campus. The game will be televised nationally on the Versus Network.

            Texas A&M leads the all-time series 64-30-9; this is the second most-played series in Baylor football history behind only TCU (105 meetings). The last three meetings have been decided by a total of 14 points since the Aggies' 63-point victory in 2003.