By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
After knocking off West Virginia 49-35 and clinching bowl eligibility for the first time since 2022, a Baylor spokesman confirmed that head coach Dave Aranda will return for a sixth season in Waco.
Aranda is 29-29 all-time as Baylor’s head coach and led the team to a Big 12 Championship victory in 2021. Following a program record 12-2 season, Aranda went 6-7 in 2022 and 3-9 in 2023, which led to speculation regarding his future in Waco. Now, riding a four-game winning streak, Aranda and the Bears are bowl-bound without questions about the future.
“We’ve got ourselves a tough and gritty team,” Aranda said following the win over West Virginia. “Early in the year, we were finding ways to lose. We’re now finding ways to win. There’s a belief that we can win, and there’s a belief that we’re going to win, and I think that’s what’s showing up.”
After a 3-9 season in 2023, there was speculation about whether Aranda would be welcomed back for a fifth season. He sat down with athletic director Mack Rhoades and laid out a plan for what he would do to get the team back to where it needed to be. Considered a revolutionary defensive mind, Aranda promised Rhoades he’d take over the play-calling duties on that side of the ball for the first time since he was the defensive coordinator at LSU. In addition, he helped the program ramp up NIL spending to bring in high-quality players.
Aranda is under contract with Baylor through 2029 due to an extension he signed in Feb. 2022. Because Baylor is a private institution, buyout information and salaries are not disclosed, but ESPN reported his buyout at $17 million if Baylor wanted to move in a different direction after this season.
“Winning is good,” Aranda said. “I mean, winning solves a lot of things. There’s a whole lot of details and adjustments that need to be made and need to be addressed, and so much we can get better at. But the fight of the team, the belief of the team, the guys striving, and all the things that are kind of behind the scenes. You see it.”
The Bears started the 2024 season 2-4, with a non-conference road loss to Utah and losses to Iowa State, BYU and Colorado, who have a combined record of 24-4. After a bye week, the Bears knocked off Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, TCU and West Virginia by a combined score of 183-132. Over the four game stretch, the Bears have averaged almost 46 points per game which tops the Big 12.
Prior to Baylor’s 12-2 Sugar Bowl season, the team went 2-7. In similar fashion, Aranda has put together a historic turnaround which now sees the Bears on their longest single game winning streak since 2021.
The green and gold have two more chances to solidify the rebound further. Baylor will be back on the road against Houston on Saturday at TDECU Stadium in Houston before wrapping up the season at home against Kansas on Nov. 30 at McLane Stadium.
