The Baylor Lariat

Dr. A. Dale Allen and his wife, Anita Allen, started their family legacy at Baylor three generations ago. Now, eight of their grandchildren keep the tradition by embracing life at BU.
Courtesy Photo | Baylor University

Three generations and 14 family members — a family of Baylor legacies.

A resonating family presence on campus doesn’t give legacy students any preferential treatment over an average Baylor student. Waco junior Rachael Brown and Dallas sophomore Caty Beth Holstead know this all too well. They are cousins, and are only a small portion of the longstanding Allen legacy family.

Dr. A. Dale Allen, a recently retired professor from the Hankamer School of Business, and his wife, Anita Allen, both attended and met at Baylor.

Since then, the green and gold has held strong in their family.

The Allens sent four of their five children to Baylor. From those four children, eight out of 16 grandchildren currently attend Baylor as well.

“We definitely all love Baylor,” Brown said. “So many of us have gone to Baylor so it’s like that’s our thing. We’re just a Baylor family.”

Baylor has been in the family for years, but each family member’s experience has been different. Whether it’s differences in time periods, majors or the ending of a legacy at Floyd Casey, each person has had an individual experience. Even a multitude of campus visits can’t compare to officially being a Baylor Bear.

Holstead said that before coming to Baylor she had spent alot of time on campus with her brother and cousins, but still wasn’t sure of what to expect when she became a student.

“It was actually better,” Holstead said. “It wasn’t like I was defined as their cousin or his sister. Everyone is just so open and so welcoming to who you are.”

While this is a “Baylor proud” family, granddaughters Brown and Holstead said they never felt pressure to choose Baylor over another university.

For Holstead, Baylor was the smartest choice after a basketball injury.

“I hurt my knee right before my senior year,” Holstead said. “So I was like basketball is not on the table anymore. So it was definitely like a peaceful, ‘this is where I need to go’ type thing. Not pressure or anything like that.”

For Brown, Baylor has been her choice from day one.

“Ever since I knew what college was, I wanted to go to Baylor,” Brown said. “Just because we would go to homecoming and we would go to women’s basketball games. So I always just really liked the atmosphere and everything.”

While many members of the family may be in the same city, daily life is busy and they don’t see each other as much as they would like.

Baylor serves as more than just a tradition for the family — it keeps them connected, bonding over sports and academics.

“We all go to games together,” Holstead said. “My aunts and uncles and my grandparents. Every so often we’ll go and have dinner together, like on Sundays normally. I mean it’s definitely good family time.”

With a legacy so big, it can get easy for people to get the family members confused with one another.

Holstead is no stranger to this. She and her brother take similar classes and thus have some of the same professors.

“One of my professors thought I was his wife,” Holstead said. “That was interesting.”

Although their family has been on Baylor campus for generations, the grandchildren currently enrolled don’t expect their familial ties on campus to gain them any preferential treatment.

“I definitely hold myself to a higher standard anyway,” Brown said. “I want to be the best student I can be and always try and be a good Christian in the classroom and outside of the classroom.”

Only time will tell how many generations this legacy will continue, but it’s safe to say the Allen family can give most family legacies a run for their money.