Sept. 25, 2008
Baylor Family,
Baylor Athletics is in full swing with all of our falls sports performing at a high level and starting conference competition. I am encouraged that this will be a very special year for our athletics program.
We have been making great progress on our facilities projects. The Simpson Athletics and Academic Center is progressing very well and we have scheduled occupancy beginning in November. The improvements in the Ferrell Center are also going very well and we expect them to be substantially complete by the end of this month.
The men's and women's basketball schedules have been released and they include plenty of television for both the Bears and Lady Bears (see Baylorbears.com for more information). The men's schedule is highlighted by two appearances on ESPN's featured window "Big Monday." It will be the first time since 2001 that the Bears have been selected for a Big Monday appearance. We are looking forward to great seasons for both programs, and season tickets are on sale for both men's and women's basketball and may be purchased on-line at Baylorbears.com or by calling 254-710-1000.
We are pleased to announce that through the efforts of our multi-media partner, International Sports Properties (ISP), we have signed a two-year contract extension with Sirius to continue carrying Baylor football and men's basketball games on satellite radio. We anticipate that the games will continue to be available on Family Net, which is Channel 161 on the Sirius line-up. This is tremendous news for all our fans and we appreciate ISP working hard to secure this contract extension on our behalf.
I want to commend our staff and fans for the strong showing at the recent Washington State football game. Our staff moved mountains in order to put us in position to play the game on Friday night instead of Saturday, and we received a great deal of cooperation from WSU as well. I was impressed with our loyal fans who changed their schedule at the last moment in order to attend the game and cheer the Bears on to a terrific victory. Thank you to all for your support!
Having four of the first five football games selected for television is further affirmation of the respect that Baylor football is gaining under Coach Briles. It is exciting to hear all of the positive comments from announcers about the University, football program, Coach Briles and our student-athletes. This will pay dividends in terms of institutional marketing, resource acquisition and recruiting in the days to come.
Before turning to the Ask Ian questions, I want to address Baylor football ticket pricing. Some have suggested that we should sell deeply discounted tickets to football in an effort to increase attendance. While we are very interested in growing our crowds, discounted tickets have shown to have a very limited impact on increasing attendance. Baylor already offers the lowest season and single game ticket prices in the Big 12. If we reduce ticket prices further, it will result in less revenue for our programs and that will have a direct negative impact on our ability to have competitive programs. I know that is not what the Baylor family is seeking. Bottom line: we need more Baylor fans purchasing tickets at our current affordable prices.
We have received a few Ask Ian questions in the past couple of weeks and below are the latest round.
Ian;
Coach Briles and the players are busting their butts, and it is time for us Bears to step up and make the Stadium a home field advantage for the OU game. No more excuses! We need every alum, fan and student in the stands. Full house or bust. Who is with me?
Duke Wilson
Duke,
Thank you for the spirited e-mail about Coach Briles and Baylor football. I hope that you are speaking for the entire Baylor family. Baylor football is making great progress under Coach Briles and we have a very exciting team to watch in 2008. We need every student, staff member, friend and alum to support the program and fill the stands. There is no better time to start than next Saturday when the No. 2 ranked Oklahoma Sooners come to Floyd Casey Stadium for an 11:30 a.m. start. Call the ticket office today at 254-710-1000 to get your tickets!!!
Ian
Ian;
I want to compliment somebody on the Bear's new helmets and uniforms. They are really sharp looking and 100% improvement over prior years. I have heard many compliments on the new look. You look better and you play better. Thanks to whoever is in charge.
Frank Marshall
Frank,
I will pass your comment along to Coach Briles. The team looks good coming on the field, but I am more encouraged about the way that they are performing on the field. We are well coached, play hard and have some exciting players to watch. Thanks for your support!
Ian
Dear Ian; I'm a happy Bear because of Coach Art. Football is looking good. Can you talk about why the previous staff didn't recruit Robert Griffin? He's the man!
Louis Shultz
Louis,
Let's just say that we are excited about the future of Baylor football and leave it at that. Coach Briles and his staff are doing a great job of recruiting and it is obvious to see why so many of the talented players throughout the State of Texas are excited about coming to Baylor to play for them. Thanks for the e-mail and your support!
Ian, Thank you for your great administration of Baylor Athletics and the collective success garnered during your time at Baylor.
My question is regarding apparel. Other than game-worn jerseys that are available for sale on baylorbears.com are team helmets (i.e. green or gold helmets) also available for sale? I believe these would look great on any Baylor Fan's home/work office.
Arturo Salinas
Eagle Pass, Texas
Arturo,
Thank you for the kind words. We are blessed to have great coaches, staff members and student-athletes at Baylor!
We do offer miniature Baylor helmets that are sold through the Baylor Bookstore and at games, however, we have not made authentic helmets available to the general public. They are very expensive and at this point are not a product that has widespread merchandising appeal.
Ian
Ian, Since this is an Olympic year is there any chance we can have Jeremy Wariner (while holding a large USA flag) lead the football team onto the field for the season opening game vs. Wake Forest? I believe this was also done in 2004.
Thanks and Sic'em Bears!
Rob Adams
Waco, Texas
Rob,
Jeremy was unable to attend the Wake Forest game because he was still competing over in Europe. However, we are expecting both he and Reggie Witherspoon, who joined Jeremy on the gold medal winning 4x400-meter relay team, to lead the team onto the field at the Oklahoma game.
Ian
