By Abby Rathburn | Staff Writer
As the Revivalry approaches, Baylor students are preparing for one of the most anticipated games of the football season. With more than a century of history between Baylor and TCU, the rivalry brings plenty of school spirit, competition and occasional controversy.
Baylor and TCU first faced off on the football field in 1899. At the time, both universities had a Waco campus. According to Waco History, TCU moved to Waco in 1895 and remained there until a fire destroyed its main building in 1910, prompting the university’s relocation to Fort Worth.
Since 1899, the teams have faced off more than 120 times, making it the most-played college football series in Texas history. Decades of history and competition have fueled a fierce rivalry, with occasional acts of vandalism pushing it beyond school-spirited fun.
“When I lived in Fort Worth, I had a neighbor chalk my driveway when they beat us,” Dr. Alan Lefever, adjunct faculty and author of “The History is Baylor Sports,” said. “They chalked the score into my driveway in 2010. I went out, and there was the score, and I didn’t know which neighbor it was.”
Lefever said the rivalry’s intensity likely stems from the similarities between the two schools.
“Our rivalry is as intense as it is because we are both relatively small private schools, our student body makeup is a lot the same … and there still is that religious element that is part of the DNA of the institutions,” Lefever said.
Sports Marketing Professor Thomas Hall said the game is “an opportunity to set an example” for other universities, especially since Baylor and TCU share Christian roots. Rather than let the rivalry overshadow those values, Hall said students can use the game to demonstrate their faith in a highly emotional environment.
“We have to temper some of that emotional rivalry with going, ‘First, we’re Christians; we’re gonna be rivals second,’” Hall said. “Each individual person that’s attending the game, whether they’re from TCU, whether they’re from Baylor, each person has a higher calling that we should all respond to,” Hall said.
Baylor and TCU student governments are also partnering to channel the rivalry into something positive through a food drive competition modeled after similar initiatives at other universities.
“We really want to turn something that is spirited internally on Baylor’s campus and orient it more externally,” Parker junior and Student Body External Vice President Lucy Dennis said. “There are so many students who want to serve and so many nonprofits and awesome places like Central Texas Food Bank that would love more volunteers, especially as they’re getting off the ground.”
During the week, Central Texas Food Bank representatives are invited to Baylor’s campus to encourage student donations and raise awareness of food insecurity.
“I hope that people can realize that there’s so many ways that they can help in the Waco community and all they have to do is seek that initiative,” Charlotte, North Carolina, sophomore and Director of Intercollegiate Traditions Abigail Smith said.
Both Hall and Student Government leaders said students’ actions toward their rivals can reflect something bigger than a football game’s outcome.
“When you’re in college, you’re helping to develop your identity of who you are as a person, and so much of that for Baylor students is tied back to Baylor,” Hall said. “Whether you’re living in Waco, Dallas, Austin, or you’re halfway across the country, you’re still going to have that identity back to where you went to college.”
Still, Lefever said embracing Baylor’s values doesn’t mean students should tone down their school pride.
“I think sometimes we get too busy as students to really realize and enjoy what it is to just sit and scream for a few hours,” Lefever said. “Be there Saturday, and be loud.”
