By Ryan Herz | Contributor
Baylor is known for all of its traditions like Homecoming, DiadelOso and Sing. While lots of attention is focused on its traditions by the student body, little attention is geared toward Baylor sporting events.
I understand not the whole student body can be at every sporting event due to work, class and other time commitments, but Baylor Athletic events should be a priority for students at Baylor. Your time at Baylor is so short, and your time only gets busier after you graduate. Baylor is a power five conference school with the majority of its sports being ranked or just being well above average.
Baylor has Kim Mulkey, one of the winningest college women’s basketball coaches in the history of the game. Even Scott Drew, who is the current head coach for the men’s basketball team has made great strides in his career. There’s some great history and a great look for the future of basketball at Baylor.
Baylor football should be a great example of why students should come out to games more often. They went 1-11 in 2017. That season was the worst season Baylor has had since 1999, when the Bears went 1-10 under new head coach, Kevin Steele. Baylor football went 7-6 this year and ended up winning the 2018 Texas Bowl in Houston. The team is trending up. Students should start to buy in with that in mind.
As an intern for Baylor Athletics Fan Engagement, I’m part of a team that finds new and innovative ways to attract students to games. For example, coming up with new promotion ideas and coming up with new activation ideas. An activation is the intention of promoting and advertising, from a sponsors’ point of view, toward a specific marketing opportunity. Not seeing a huge student support for our Bears doesn’t help the Bears on the field and doesn’t look great from our aspect, too.
For example, I was very disappointed in student attendance this season at the Baylor football game against Duke. The student attendance was very weak in my opinion. Baylor ended up losing, and that the heat was a factor at the game. But looking at the Baylor Line section and only seeing the middle section filled disappointed me.
There is tons of ways to get involved when it comes to students coming to games. The Bear Pit at Baylor Basketball games and the Baylor Line provide opportunities for the students to help support the Bears and provide camaraderie for the Bears. As a freshman, if you want to get more involved with Baylor sports, this is a great start. Students can reach out to them and get connected quite easily.
Mainly, student support should be a focal point here at Baylor. We have tough and very competitive teams that are willing to fight for the victory. Also, students can make memories at Baylor sporting events. Students should want to be a part of these memories, and they could remember them across their Baylor career.
Ryan Herz
Denver
Senior S3 major
