By Mackenzie Grizzard | Staff Writer
The night before the home opener, a sea of gold flooded the grounds of McLane Stadium. The sound of 3,000 freshmen bubbling with excitement was almost deafening. Friday night, they became a part of Baylor’s history forever.
Students donned their Baylor Line jerseys to participate in the annual Sign the Line event with their fellow classmates. This Baylor tradition involves freshmen and new transfer students signing their names on the golden Baylor Line leading into McLane Stadium, the very line they will run before the first home football game the next day.
Jordy Dickey, director of Student Activities, said signing the Baylor Line is a tradition and rite of passage for new students at Baylor. It memorializes students on a line that has been signed by generations of Baylor students.
“This is the first start to their game day experience,” Dickey said. “[We] memorialize it and give them a chance to leave a legacy.”
Baylor’s class of 2028 is one of the largest on record, with 3,320 enrolled freshmen, making this year’s Sign the Line a historic one.
According to Waukesha, Wis. freshman Melissa Keane, signing the line was one of the events she looked forward to the most.
“I’ve been looking forward to this moment since I came on my tour and they took us on the field,” Keane said. “I’m super excited and stoked to be a part of something so unique that has been going on from generation to generation.”
The Baylor Line originated in 1970, with generations of Baylor freshmen after them immortalizing their names on the same golden line, according to BaylorProud. The Baylor Chamber of Commerce helps keep this tradition alive.
Katy senior Natalie Lewicki, Chamber of Commerce member and stand leader, said she loves watching the freshman classes get to sign the line in preparation of running it the next day.
“I will never forget my first experience [on the Line] and I’m so excited for them to [get] that as well,” Lewicki said.
The dark green Baylor Chamber of Commerce line jersey stuck out from the horde of bright yellow as stand leaders led the new students in Baylor chants, “Sic Em’s” and even the wave.
Before signing their names to the Baylor Line, students filed onto the field to take a class picture, which turned out as an aerial view of freshmen standing in the shape of Baylor’s official logo.
Once their picture was taken, it was time for what everyone came for.
Permanent marker in hand, the Class of 2028 filed towards the Baylor Line, glowing bright under the lights of McLane, to write their legacy — literally — into the stone.
Austin freshman Samantha Horner said she was grateful and honored to get to be a part of such a rich and historic tradition.
“It’s just such a blessing, and I’m just so thankful to be here with all my best friends,” Horner said. “It’s just so cool to be apart of all these fun traditions.”
Although the class of 2028 will be painted over a year from now, their names will forever be written under layers of paint on the gold Baylor Line.
“It’s been really fun to watch all the names that are signed,” Dickey said. “We paint over each year, but if you were to pull back that later, it’s signatures upon signatures of students.”
Montgomery freshman Adeline Rabel said she thought it was cool to realize that she was signing her name on top of generations of Baylor students who had once done the same.
“It’s our turn to finally be the ones,” Rabel said. “All the years that came before us got to do the same thing.”
According to Dickey, signing the line is one of the most important experiences of being a Baylor Bear and makes the freshman experience one of a kind.
“We always say to students that [they] are writing the next chapter for Baylor University,” Dickey said. “When [they] write that next chapter, though, we want [them] to write a really good one.”
