 | | Director of Athletics Ian McCaw stopped by for a live chat Tuesday, May 10. |
Ian McCaw assumed the leadership of Baylor's 18-sport, Big 12 intercollegiate athletics program on Sept. 8, 2003. Baylor has experienced unprecedented success under McCaw in 2005. The women's basketball team captured the program's first NCAA championship and three teams - women's basketball and men's and women's tennis - captured Big 12 regular season titles, the most in the history of the school. 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 thank you for joining us for this chat session. |
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| Diego Castaneda: Seeing the recent success of the women's basketball program, a proccess of five years or more, what are your expectations of programs like volleyball which has a new head coach and seems to be getting better and better every day? |
| | Ian McCaw: I believe that the Lady Bears national championship will provide hope and generate momentum for all of our sports. Nothing succeeds like success! I have been very impressed with Coach Barnes, his staff and the direction of Baylor volleyball. His team improved significantly this spring and his recruiting has been exceptional. I look forward to this program competing for championships in years to come. |
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| Jim Riggs-San Antonio: I tried out the new chairback seats at the Spring Game. There is way too little knee room for fans to walk between them and the seat backs in front. It will mean having to stand up to let someone by, and even then it will still be difficult. |
| | Ian McCaw: Jim, Thanks for your question. We cannot increase the space between rows without triggering code issues that would make any improvement unfeasible. We presently have three premium seating locations at Floyd Casey Stadium: Bear Heights (sold out with a waiting list), Galloway Suite now called the Bear Den (sold out) and Bear Place (90 percent of capacity and growing). In brief, we are receiving increasing demand for premium seating for Baylor football similar to what professional teams and other Big 12 schools have been experiencing. Therefore, in order to best serve the interests of our fan base, we have created a fourth premium seating location. We are coverting the existing 18" per person bench seating in Section DD through FF below the press box into 22" premium chairback seats with armrests. We will be affording the existing ticket holders in these sections an opportunity to renew season tickets for $185. The seat option for these seats will remain at $125 - $150. By any measure, premium chairback seats located between the 30's on the home sideline, at this price represents an incredible value for fans. Many institutions require five-figure or greater donations in order to have the opportunity to purchase seats in this location. This is another example of our staff making every effort to add value for season ticket holders and improve the game day experience for fans. We invited fans including select ticket holders in these sections to view and sit in different seats and provide feedback including during the Spring Game. The new seats will be designed in such a way as to meet code requirements, improve spacing and comfort for fans and ensure that all season ticket holders in these sections who renew will have an opportunity to be a part of the Bear Club. Best wishes. |
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| William L. Garrett (Nacogdoches): With the recent success of the women's basketball team, how is the recruiting going for next year's class? |
| | Ian McCaw: William, Women's basketball recruiting is going extremely well. Coach Mulkey-Robertson is very excited about the four student-athletes she signed in the early period. In addition, you can expect another announcement shortly about a student-athlete who will be joining the Lady Bear program. Winning the national championship has opened recruiting avenues for the program that bodes very well for the future. We appreciate your support! |
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| Martin Davis: When will the tennis complex be completed (phases 3 & 4)? The existing facility is wonderful - congratulations on the first two phases. Your work is much appreciated. |
| | Ian McCaw: Martin, Thank you for the e-mail. Baylor will be hosting a NCAA regional this weekend at the tennis facility and I encourage all of our fans to come out and support the team. We are actively fundraising for the indoor/multipurpose facility at this time and look forward to moving forward as soon as the resources are committed. Best wishes. |
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| Kyle Hilton-La Jolla, CA: Are there any plans to add any more sports to Big 12 Conference play from Baylor. If so, what programs would be added and how long will it be until these programs come about? |
| | Ian McCaw: Kyle, The only Baylor program that does not currently compete in the Big 12 is Equestrian, our newest sport. However, there is considerable growing interest in this sport within the conference membership and we expect it to become a Big 12 sport in the future. Thank you for your interest. |
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| carlos reyna (san antonio): Besides the one game we scheduled to play on television this year, what efforts are being made to get more games televised this season? And do you have any ideas on which games you believe will get air time? Thanks for your hard work. |
| | Ian McCaw: Carlos, The television schedule is developed by the Big 12 in conjunction with our television partner Fox Sports. At this time, the 2005 football television schedule is not yet set. I expect that at least one Baylor game will be a part of the conference package. In addition, we are exploring television opportunities for non-conference games. We will also work closely to maximize the number of television appearances. |
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| cb (waco): You had mentioned earlier about a change in radio broadcast. Does this mean a complete change in the personnel? If not, can you explain the new agreement that we have entered into? Thanks. |
| | Ian McCaw: CB, You must be referring to a comment that I made in a recent Ask Ian session. We will soon announce a new partnership that will lead to positive change in the Baylor Radio Network. Until the details are finalized, I am not in a position to share the nature of the changes. We look forward to providing Baylor fans with exciting improvements in this area in the future. Thank you for the question. |
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| David (Dallas): You have done a fantastic job since coming to Baylor. But something needs to be done to improve the atmosphere at Baylor football games. What is being done to improve the football experience at Baylor. We need to fill our stadium. |
| | Ian McCaw: David, Thank you for the kind comments. We are making great progress on many fronts thanks to the excellent work of our coaches, staff and student-athletes. We have made great progress in the fan experience at home football games including the student tailgate area, videoboard presentation, touchdown alley, concessions and merchandising. We believe that the completion of the Grant Teaff Plaza this summer will add to this through improvements in aesthetics, a new ticket office on the East side, improved signage and graphics. We believe that the improved product on the field and renewed sense of enthusiasm among our fan base will be the most important factors in filling Floyd Casey Stadium! We appreciate your support! |
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| Steven (Houston): If our baseball team finishes the season strong, what do you think our chances are of holding a regional. Have we put in a bid? |
| | Ian McCaw: Steven, We have recently submitted a very competitive bid to the NCAA to host a baseball regional at the Baylor Ballpark. As you know, the team continues to lead the Big 12 and has an impressive RPI. With that, we are optimistic about our chances of hosting a regional this spring. Thanks for the question. |
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| James (Dallas): I keep hearing conflicting stories on the fundraising for the basketball practice facility. Is it fully pledged? If not, are we close? Can you give a general timeframe of when you expect ground to be broken? |
| | Ian McCaw: Jim, Thanks for the question and your strong support. The basketball practice facility is one of the projects within the five-year, $90 million Victory With Integrity campaign. We are off to a terrific start with the overall campaign including this project. At this point, we have more than one-half of the funding raised for the basketball practice facility, however, we are in need of additional gifts before we can move forward. I hope all fans of the Lady Bears and Bears will consider making a contribution by contacting the Bear Foundation at 710-4214 or the University Development Office at 710-2561. |
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| Austin (Chiang Mai): Can you give a brief update of recent and upcoming facility improvements? |
| | Ian McCaw: Chiang, Thank you for the question. The final phase of the Grant Teaff Plaza, I Believe Walkway is underway. The progress is obvious if you come by Floyd Casey Stadium. This project will extend the beautiful wrought iron fencing and brickwork around the Stadium and for the first time allow fans to cross over from the East to West side and vice versa. We will make numerous aesthetic improvements and have an attractive letterwinners area on the West side. We are in the final stages of fundraising for this project and welcome gifts including naming opportunities by contacting the Bear Foundation at 254-710-3650. We will move forward on other projects as the funds are committed. |
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| James (Dallas): Can you give us a report on how the Academic Success Center is coming along? Does the Victory with Integrity campaign include this project? |
| | Ian McCaw: James, Development activity for the Academic Success Center is outside of the Victory With Integrity campaign since this area reports outside of the athletic department. However, we have been working closely with the development office and other key staff members on this project. There are several proposals under consideration by prospective donors at this time and we are hopeful that someone will want to support this worthwhile and very important project. |
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| Marvin Free (Ft. Atkinson, WI): Can anything be done to increase the coverage of televised Baylor games? Many times Fox North does not show the Baylor games being televised in the Southwest. |
| | Ian McCaw: Marvin, The situation that you described occured last year when Baylor hosted Oklahoma. Fox had split national coverage on that day with the Baylor game in the south and a north division contest in that region. It is unusual that this should occur, however, Fox felt that this would improve their ratings. Since they own the Big 12 package, they make this decision. |
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| Bruins (Waco): Besides the fact that Women's basketball might be the bigger of the two sports why did they receive so much credit for winning the national championship when the Men's tennis team received very little just one year before despite they were the team that won the first title ever at Baylor University? |
| | Ian McCaw: Bruins, We celebrate success and excellence at Baylor regardless of the sport at Baylor. I think both programs deserve a great deal of credit for their accomplishments and I am incredibly proud of both. It took Baylor 160 years to win its first national championship and now we have two in 11 months. Most people do not realize how rare and difficult this is to accomplish. There are many fine athletic programs that have not won national championships in decades. In fact, I understand that Texas A&M has not won an NCAA title in over 50 years. Baylor is blessed by the outstanding accomplishments of our coaches, staff and student-athletes and we should all come together and celebrate our two national titles and our school record five Big 12 championships over the past year. |
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| Larry, Athens: Ian: Why did the jerseys of football players that are or did play in the pros get taken down and do you have plans to ever put them back up? Also, why don't we retire number 63 "Singletary's" jersey and start a ring of honor like the COWBOYS do at Texas Stadium? |
| | Ian McCaw: Larry, At one time, the jerseys of all of the Baylor players who played in the NFL were displayed at the Stadium. However, a previous head coach wanted them removed and they were taken down. Thanks to the efforts and leadership of Walter Abercrombie, Doug Smith and Jim Trego on our staff, several letterwinners have contributed funds to have these jerseys restored and put back in place. Both Coach Morriss and I have supported this project and we look forward to it being completed in short order. |
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| Jeff, Katy: What would you say has been the most difficult part of this job compared to any other AD positions you have held? |
| | Ian McCaw: Jeff, This is a great question and one that I need to pause and consider. First, let me say that I am blessed to serve Baylor University as its athletic director and am grateful for this opportunity. In addition, this has been a rare and special year to be at Baylor with men's tennis and women's basketball winning national championships, Jeremy Wariner and Darold Williamson winning Olympic gold medals, the thrilling win over Texas A&M in football, the sweep of then #1 Texas in baseball and the five Big 12 titles this year. With all of this success, the greatest challenge is meeting the constantly growing expectations and needs for support for each of our 18 outstanding programs. We need the entire Baylor family to come together and support Baylor Athletics by joining the Bear Foundation and contributing to the Victory With Integrity campaign. With your support, we have a very bright future indeed! |
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| | Ian McCaw: That is all of the time that we have today. Thank you for being a part of today's session and your support of Baylor Athletics! |
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