BU Student Activites says SUB can hold Heisman watch party crowd

Members of the Baylor Line gather at Floyd Casey Stadium before the Bears face Texas on Dec. 3. Baylor won, 48-24.

Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

The Bill Daniel Student Union Building might not be the biggest gathering area on Baylor’s campus, but Baylor Student Activities is confident it will hold everyone who comes to the Heisman trophy watch party on Saturday night.

On Saturday, Baylor hopes to watch quarterback Robert Griffin III receive the Heisman trophy, college football’s highest individual honor.

The watch party, which begins at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, was originally supposed to be in a more intimate setting where only Baylor students would gather.

Once the word got out on Twitter, however, the party invitation was extended to the public, and Student Activities had to act to ensure the SUB would hold the larger-than-originally-expected crowd.

Matt Burchett, director of student activities, said he expects roughly 350 to 400 people at the party. The party will feature free Vitek’s barbecue and Alamo Bowl ticket giveaways.

To accommodate everybody, Burchett’s team has placed televisions throughout the SUB den and eating area and is working on using the Barfield room on the second floor as overflow.

Other venues were considered, including Waco Hall, concert halls and the Ferrell Center. Waco Hall has a symphony, however, Baylor’s concert halls are also in use and the Ferrell Center was deemed implausible because of a lack of available staff members.

Burchett estimated a capacity of between 600 and 700 people at Saturday’s watch party.

“Ideally, there will be TVs everywhere and students everywhere,” Burchett said.