Baylor Line | Fall 2018

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Love & Glory THE BAYLOR LINE

T H E B AY L O R L I N E | F A L L 2 0 1 8 V O L . 8 3 , N O. 4 PUBLISHED BY THE BAYLOR LINE FOUNDATION SINCE 1946

Executive Vice President Allen Holt allen@baylorlinefoundation.com Editor-in-Chief Craig Cunningham craig@baylorlinefoundation.com Publication Designer Haley Gandy cedargandy.com CFO James McInnis james@baylorlinefoundation.com Marketing Director Shelby Pipken shelby@baylorlinefoundation.com Member Services Kellie Juandiego kellie@baylorlinefoundation.com Social Media Communications Michelle Case michelle@baylorlinefoundation.com Staff Writer Cole Niles cole@baylorlinefoundation.com Assistant Editor Libby Tidwell libby@baylorlinefoundation.com

For advertising opportunities, email ads@baylorlinefoundation.com Letters and comments can be sent to baylorline@baylorlinefoundation.com Contact Info The Baylor Line P.O. Box 2089 Waco TX 76703 254.732.0393

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t the administrative level, college athletics are complicated. Fans at most universities are shielded from the nitty gritty of compliance, leaked emails, and the closed-door politics of keeping the ship afloat. For better or worse, Baylor fans don’t have the bliss of ignorance. The past several years have exposed us to stories and rumors about the ongoing sexual assault scandal and an NCAA investigation. While the saga continues to unfold, the most important group of people continues to line up every single day and wait for the whistle.

In this issue, we wanted to step back and celebrate our student athletes.

I’m still amazed by the incredible commitment that is required by student athletes, not only to keep their grades up, but to maintain the daily grind of traveling to events, managing press, building their bodies into peak condition, and balancing the pressure of winning with the opportunity to actually enjoy the college experience. Much is required of these 18-22-year-olds.

It is their focus and commitment that allows alumni to rally together as a united community. For that, I’m grateful, and for that, I will always give my support.

Included in this issue are stories of current and former student athletes of all stripes. We interviewed Baylor football legend Mike Singletary, highlighted a few unheralded members of the women’s basketball empire, and gave a big shout out to the Acrobatics and Tumbling Team, who just won their fourth consecutive national title. What an amazing feat. We also examined the just-released EADA (Equality in Athletics Disclosure Act) report that details how Baylor allocates funds within the Athletics Department and provides insight into how the machine operates.

On a final note, we hope all members join us at our annual meeting on November 2nd, and also stop by our Homecoming Tailgate at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on gameday.

See you at the game, Craig Cunningham ‘08 Editor-in-Chief

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Find us online at

baylorlinefoundation.com On our website you will find exclusive online stories like a recent interview with former Baylor football coach Art Briles. You can also submit updates for Down The Years.

Connect with us on

social media

Facebook : @thebaylorlinefoundation Twitter : @baylorlinefdn Instagram : @baylorlinefoundation

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EDITOR’S LETTER CRAIG CUNNINGHAM

VOICES CHERYL CAMPBELL | CODY CARLSON

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FOR LOVE AND GLORY NATE ORF, 16 | DREAM TEAM, 18 | VINCE CLARK, 32 | STATS, 30

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HISTORY HOUR ARCHES | JOHN TANNER III ,34

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LIFE, ACCORDING TO MIKE SINGLETARY

BY TOM KERTSCHER

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CREATIVE

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ALUMNI STORIES

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35 YEARS OF BAYLOR SISTERHOOD

VARIATIONS ON GLORY | BEHIND THE BEAR, 46

TED HARRISON, 40 | GARY AND SHAWN BRIDGES, 42 | STEVE SWINNEY, 44

BY MIMI TERRY BOMMARITO

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HOUSEKEEPING REMEMBRANCES | HOF NOMINATIONS, 11 | SCHOLARSHIP, 9 OBITUARIES, 56 | HOMECOMING, 62

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Do you have any great stories from your time in

The Golden Wave Marching Band?

We’d love to hear them!

Send your submissions to info@baylorlinefoundation.com.

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Photo by Trey Honeycutt

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On our last issue about the new academic strategic plan called Illuminate: First, let me say that this was one of the finest pieces of journalism I have read on this subject. It thoroughly investigated what the Illuminate project means (in ways I could understand) and presented a variety of thoughts to be considered in our forward progress on that front. Thank you so very much for all the hard work that went into it.

These are statements in articles in the Summer 2018 Edition of The Baylor Line that I highlighted to think about, along with my thoughts:

* At times, it can feel like a commitment to research

is a departure from Baylor’s traditional identity. While in my undergraduate studies (1971-1973) I took two Political Science courses. One was by a professor who was “published” and did much research. The next semester I had a Poli Sci professor who was passionate about teaching. We studied and discussed Supreme Court cases. It was exciting and I learned quite a bit about those particular cases and also how cases are decided. The contrast between those two professors was stark and ever impressed on me the danger of requiring that someone passionate about teaching to “get published” or satisfy some research requirements.

* Why must Baylor exist? Baylor is unique among all

colleges and universities. The quality of education it provides is evident by the respect that a degree (and I have two) from there brings. It is a place of integrity and a place where students are trained, in whatever field they choose, to go out into the world and proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ. If not us, then who? We are living in times where excuses are made for departing from Biblical principles and Baylor needs to be a place you can depend on to at least have exposed students to those principles and explained why they are important and lead to the best quality of life.

* (See article by Dr. Larry Lyon.) Science, art,

and literature all have moved away from faith where they had their foundation when the ivy league schools were established as Christian schools. Do we think Baylor is going to “stay the course” when the others have not been able to do so? Our faith being 1 of 4 pillars does not seem enough to me. It should be the one pillar upon which all others rest.

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Alumni weigh in on the previous issue and current events

* Should we do everything possible to become

T1/R1? One of the things I admired most about Ken Starr was that he asked alumni what they most wanted to see, and we almost all said that Baylor should be much more affordable. He immediately established the President’s Scholarship initiative and we all gave! I have no desire to give to fund research. I want to fund outstanding teaching (and I had some great ones that will long be remembered in Baylor’s history) to eager young learners.

* I see lots of talk about grant proposals and post-

award work. Is the tuition of “regular” students (who do not come to Baylor for the research) going toward this, not to mention the research itself? My giving in the future depends on the answer to that question and the affordability of a Baylor education to people like me. I saved since Jr. High, my parents worked, I worked on campus and saved and I got a partial scholarship!

Two degrees with no car 125 miles from home, but no sacrifice on my part was too big to go to Baylor!

* Yes, you do have to regain my trust, especially

in the area of transparency for alumni. We all are so grateful to the Baylor Line Foundation. In light of recent years’ events and the board’s handling of them (still can’t get over that the board reports to no one), we need the BLF to be our eyes and ears.

* Joining alongside Notre Dame, Duke, Boston

College... What impact for Christ do these institutions have in our country and in the world?

* How will Waco benefit? It is fair to question why

Waco students cannot afford to go to Baylor. Is the answer to raise the wages of Wacoans? It seems like that’s the plan, but will it raise everybody’s, or just the new people who come in? Or should there be an emphasis on making Baylor more affordable?

* I have thought about if there is a possibility of

“separating” the students like me (so we could afford to attend) from those expensive buildings and dorms and research. No, online is not the answer. I lived in the dorm two years and that was definitely part of my learning experience – the “going away” to college growing up period. What if undergrads would rather have an affordable learning experience at Baylor than be involved in research?

Thank you for listening, Cheryl Campbell BA ‘73, MA ‘75

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On recent events surrounding Baylor:

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

- from Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address

In America’s greatest civil crisis, Abraham Lincoln accepted the Office of The President of the United States, and delivered an Inaugural Address that called for reconciliation. Lincoln’s closing words are well known, not only because they beautifully capture our imagination, but also because they envision a nation and its people achieving something that must have been almost impossible for them to imagine.

Lincoln seemed to have trusted that we truly long for peace and not discord. But he also knew the darkness of our prideful mind. Though his confidence was continually shaken, Lincoln’s own willingness to strive for change led him to a higher understanding of the fight for racial equality in America, and a deeper commitment to progressing toward more equal rights for all.

With its episodes of strife, Baylor seems unable to shed its “mistakenness”, and consequently it could be an embattled institution for some time.

No matter what, even while battles are waged over who is guilty, and as adversaries within our society claim high ground, we should remember that peace is better. Should we forget what happened to cause people harm, and others shame? Heavens no! George Santayana famously wrote, “Progress, depends on retentiveness... those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. So we should learn our

lessons, recognizing that many of our beliefs and behaviors are uncharitable and unacceptable.

We should believe that corrective action is called for, while retributive action should never be used.

Should we desire shame for our adversary when Jesus Christ himself taught “forgive as you have been forgiven”? How can we have peace without generosity and mercy?

We are meant to be transformed. It is intended that Christians conform to the image of Christ. It is commanded that we love our enemies. If we are determined, we can not only imagine a society that values humility and respect for everyone, we can move closer to having one. Together, we can strengthen a commitment to the many existing acts and ideas at Baylor that are right and good, and we can expectantly labor to help leaders change areas where the University is off course.

May God be glorified and Baylor improved.

Sic ‘em, Cody Carlson ‘86

Voices want to share your voice ?

Submit to voices@baylorlinefoundation.com

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Baylor Line Foundation

Scholarship

by Michelle Case

Richard Beggs belonged to the Baylor family long before he stepped foot on campus in August of 2016. Including his great grandparents, Beggs is the 11th family member to attend Baylor. Beggs grew up in Dripping Springs, TX, just west of Austin, with three sisters. He is a Supply Chain Management/ Marketing major in the Hankamer School of Business and one of the Baylor Line Foundation’s Legacy Scholarship recipients.

Along with serving as a Community Leader (CL), Beggs has been actively involved in his fraternity, Phi Kappa Chi. He has led on Recruitment Council and held positions like Brotherhood Chair and Parties Chair. His favorite memories at Baylor so far include participating in Pigskin 2017, the Baylor/OU game in the 2017 Football season, and watching his mom (Sally Beggs ’89) run the Baylor Line for the first time in October of 2017. This fall, he is looking forward to starting his major-specific classes, living in a house with five Phi Chis, and developing deeper relationships with the people in his life.

Beggs said that it was important for him to receive the Baylor Line Foundation scholarship because of the financial burden that college invokes on his family. He stated, “As the third of four kids, there is a lot of financial burden. I am doing anything and everything I can to lessen that load for my parents. It is super important because I do not want to take education for granted, and I know that it is a blessing to go to Baylor.”

For the past two summers, Beggs has been a counselor at Kanakuk. He served there for over eight weeks this summer, counseling boys from the ages of 6-12. When asked what he learned during that time, Beggs simply said, “Patience.” He knows that his summers at Kanakuk were very rewarding because “the opportunity for impact is so high. You get to know the kids so well. Authentic relationships are being built over time, which is incredibly important when you are sharing the gospel.”

Beggs said, “College is a time when you make your faith your own. When your parents are not pushing you along, you have the opportunity to abandon your faith. This is the time to make it your own and take ownership with your relationship with the Lord.” It is very apparent that Beggs is doing just that during his time at Baylor.

After Beggs graduates in 2020, he plans to work in supply chain management or as a consultant, like his father.

To help students like Richard attend Baylor, donate to our legacy scholarship program at baylorlinefoundation.com 9

Want to have your voice heard?

Alumni-elected regents are an important way to make an impact on Baylor’s leadership.

It is vital that alumni learn the process of nominating and voting for alumni-elected regents, and remain involved year after year to ensure representation on the Board of Regents.

For a quick refresher, here’s a breakdown of the calendar.

October-November : Nominations are accepted.

December-March : Nominations are reviewed, and candidates are notified.

April : Candidates are announced to the public.

Late April-Early May : Alumni vote on candidates.

June 1 : Winners are announced and new alumni-elected regents begin service.

To put forth a nomination, you will need to fill out all appropriate forms and obtain fifty signatures.

For more information about this process, visit

www.baylor.edu/alumni/regents

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Hall of Fame Awards

Each year, the Baylor Line Foundation honors outstanding alumni with our Hall of Fame Awards.

Nominations are open until November 15!

This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the amazing lives and achievements of Baylor alumni.

How to nominate alumni Visit : baylorlinefoundation.com | Call : 254. 732. 0393 | Write : P.O. Box 2089, Waco, TX 76703 + Distinguished Alumni Award + Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Possible Awards Include:

+ W.R. White Meritorious Service Award + Abner V. McCall Religious Liberty Award + George W. Truett Distinguished Church Service Award + Herbert H. Reynolds Retired Faculty and Administrators Award + Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award

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Photo courtesy of Baylor Photography

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love + glory

a celebration of

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student athletes

Photo courtesy of Baylor Photography

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Photo courtesy The Accredited Press

Nate Orf

Wasn’t Supposed To Be Here

by Luke Blount

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ate Orf wasn’t supposed to be there on the Fourth of July at Miller Park in Milwaukee. He had been a walk-on baseball player at Baylor, where he suffered an elbow injury that forced him to change positions. He went undrafted in 2013 and signed with the Milwaukee Brewers minor league system on a meager contract of a few hundred dollars. He spent five years grinding, waiting for the opportunity to play in the majors, and with one swing of the bat, he made it all worth it.

On that day, Orf became a legend, a fairytale version of himself. In what was his first major-league hit, he smacked a home run over the left field wall, giving his team what would be the winning run in a close game. After he reached the dugout, the crowd demanded a curtain call. His teammates scooped him up and carried him out on their shoulders in front of the adoring fans.

“I just feel like you only have one life, and I was gonna give it my all.”

“Nate was determined,” said former Baylor Assistant Coach Steve “Hoot” Johnigan, who is now an Associate Director of Athletic Facilities & Operations. “He came to us with a vision, and he was going to do whatever it takes to see it through. And if you mix that type of mentality with a little bit of talent and ability, then you get something really special.”

Towards the end of his transfer season, Orf suffered an elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery. Originally a catcher, Orf was forced to change positions. In his first full year at Baylor, he was primarily used as a designated hitter to avoid having to throw at all and later moved to the outfield.

Although he performed well at Baylor and earned All-Big 12 First Team honors as a senior, Orf wasn’t drafted in the extensive 40-round MLB draft.

“He’s one of those guys that you need to watch him play over a period of time to see what he does,” Johnigan explained.

“He is not a guy that is going to hit it 600 feet or throw it 99 mph. He doesn’t have the ‘wow’ factor from a professional scout perspective. But he’s a great teammate and leader for your club. He makes everyone else around him better.”

In a now infamous incident, Milwaukee offered to sign Orf to a minor league contract for a small signing bonus. When they offered $1,000, he joked with them that he would have signed for a Snickers bar. When the final contract was sent, it was for only $500. “It wasn’t my best negotiating,” Orf deadpanned.

“It’s every kid’s dream,” Orf said. “It was the best feeling I’ve ever had. It just made all the work and sacrifices pay off.”

Orf’s journey began at the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he earned Freshman All-American honors. After his sophomore season in 2010, Orf played in a summer league with Baylor Bears Logan Vick and Cal Towey and suddenly felt called to Baylor. Just four days before classes started, he met with the Baylor Coach Steve Smith and asked to join the team as a walk-on.

“I started feeling uneasy and not really sure what was going on,” Orf explained. “I just prayed about it and prayed that if there was somewhere else that I needed to go, just show me. The next day I woke up, and I just felt moved. I had no doubt that I had somewhere else to be, so we made it happen.”

Orf signed up for classes the day that school started, and sat out the first year to meet NCAA transfer requirements. But even as a practice-only player, Nate quickly took on a leadership role with the team.

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hat was more than five years before Orf would make it to the major league club. In the intervening time, Orf slowly worked himself up through the ranks. “It gets tough to keep telling yourself to hang in there, but I’ve had unreal support throughout my career,” he said. “I just feel like you only have one life, and I was gonna give it my all.”

After two years playing for the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox as an infielder, just on the edge of making the major league club, some fans began to demand that he be promoted. They started a social media campaign under the #FreeNateOrf hashtag as his batting average topped .380 in mid-May. Perhaps it was that extra buzz that eventually landed him in Milwaukee and completed his improbable journey to the majors at the age of 28.

To further underscore the unlikelihood, Johnigan compared it to winning the lottery. He explained that even players that are drafted rarely see a pitch in the major leagues. “You take a guy that wasn’t drafted, and that percentage plummets. It just doesn’t happen,” he said. “So for him to be able to play an inning, much less hit a home run, is just a remarkable story. I knew the cards were stacked against him, but he is the type of guy that I’m never going to bet against.”

When Johnigan saw the clip of the home run and curtain call, he got chills.

“The most frustrating thing about being a coach is that sometimes the hardest working kids, the greatest kids don’t get a chance because they just aren’t talented enough,” he said. “But for him to get that chance, I was just so happy for him. What a proud moment. Unbelievable.”

In Orf’s mind, the moment was always believable. He had imagined it his entire life, and he always believed he could play at the major league level. “When I was rounding the bases, it didn’t seem abnormal to me because I was able to see myself in that moment for a long time,” he said. “When I made contact, I thought it was going to hook foul. As I was running, I saw it carry over the wall. It was a dream come true. It was the moment that made everything pay off.”

love+ glory

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The

Dream Team

by Amy Pagitt

hat started with a group of self-proclaimed gym rats plucked from the intramural office on Baylor’s campus has evolved into an NCAAregulated organization.

If you’ve never heard of Baylor’s Dream Team, you’re probably not in the minority, but this organization has been around since Coach Kim Mulkey’s very first season on campus.

At its inception, Mulkey recognized a need for a squad of guys who could practice and scrimmage with her teams, with the intent that this group would afford her the opportunity to focus entirely on one aspect of her squad’s game.

As Kaylin Rice, the Associate Director of Operations for the Lady Bears, explained, “She wants somebody else to get in there and focus on defense so that she can focus on the offensive side.”

“Coach Johnny Derrick was one of the assistant basketball coaches, and he contacted me in the staff’s first year at Baylor,” explained Matt Stott, an inaugural member of the Dream Team and 2000 Baylor graduate.

“He asked if we could get a group of guys who would be willing to help out the women’s team. We had seven or eight guys, mostly because we were excited to play in the Ferrell Center. We quickly found out that the girls were excellent players and that Coach Mulkey was an outstanding teacher.”

In its nineteen years of existence, the Dream Team has evolved. Gone are the days of finding random players on the intramural courts. Now, to join the organization, players participate in a campus-wide tryout during the second week of classes for the new school year. While there have been tryouts at various points in the past, the official process has been implemented under Rice, who began her tenure at Baylor as an undergraduate women’s basketball manager and took over the Dream Team program from Edsel Hamilton in 2015.

“I love the game, and I love the girls, and I also really enjoy the guys that I practice with. So that makes it all worth it.” – Glass

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For Rice, the biggest challenge has been making sure that Baylor students are aware of the organization’s existence. For this, social media and in-person presentations have been huge assets.

“Something I’ve done consistently over the past three years is have a booth at Late Night at the SLC,” Rice said. “So, I set up a booth, have gear, have a TV showing footage from practice and pictures, and I just explain it to guys, because most of them have never heard of the Dream Team before. We also put out graphics on social media and have flyers around campus and in dorms with male residents.”

While it is common for women’s teams across the country to scrimmage and practice against male counterparts, Baylor’s has the unique distinction of being called the Dream Team. The name harkens back to the 1992 Olympic men’s basketball squad full of the sport’s current and future superstars, but Baylor’s iteration is comprised of young men with varying degrees of skill.

“We get a wide range of people at tryouts,” Rice said in an interview with The Baylor Line. “Some guys who just played high school basketball and didn’t really play a lot but just enjoyed the game, and then we have some really good athletes who could have played at a lower level but came to Baylor to get that education.”

Interestingly, when Dream Team selections are being made, Baylor coaches are focusing more on the current make-up of Baylor’s team and not the landscape of women’s basketball overall.

“When we conduct tryouts, coaches are thinking of our players.

Who can guard Kalani? She’s six-foot-seven, and if you’re just six-foot, you’re going to have a rough time guarding her and competing with her at practice, so we got tall guys.”

One major change in the organization is that the NCAA now regulates the male practice squads for women’s basketball. This explains the decision to hold tryouts in the second week of school, when most students are still acclimating to the new semester.

“We do tryouts as early as possible so we can get them eligible to practice,” explained Rice. Just like scholarship athletes, members of the Dream Team are required to submit themselves to the NCAA clearinghouse if they join the organization in their first year of college.

“Eligibility issues are more intense each year. If you’re a freshman, you have to enroll in the NCAA eligibility center. That entails sending in test scores, high school transcripts, and paying an eighty-dollar filing fee, all of which takes quite a bit of time to get processed.”

Once guys have been cleared through the NCAA, the real work begins.

Reed Glass, a Senior Finance and Accounting major, has been on the team since his Sophomore year at Baylor. He played basketball in high school in his hometown of Lufkin, and the Dream Team affords him the opportunity to continue playing a sport he loves.

love+ glory

By joining the squad, he has committed to three practices per week, each practice lasting between two and three hours, depending on where the Lady Bears are in the season.

It’s a time commitment that comes without the glory of the bright lights in the Ferrell Center, and most Baylor fans will never even know the role he has played in helping to prepare the beloved Lady Bears for and throughout the season. But, Reed says, he does it because the Dream Team allows him to be apart of something bigger than himself.

“I love the game, and I love the girls, and I also really enjoy the guys that I practice with. So that makes it all worth it.”

And that, succinctly, is the motivation for pretty much every guy who has been a part of the Dream Team since its inception. While there are a few extra perks (workout gear and a pair of basketball shoes), it is genuinely a labor of love. And the work of these young men pays off tenfold for the Lady Bears each season as they win one Big 12 Championship after another and contend for National Championships.

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love+ glory

The Championship Arch

Designed to Celebrate Athletic Successes

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aylor University students have long been known for their generosity.

Customarily, whenever they get involved in an undertaking, whether requiring time, money or emotional support, success is almost always assured.

Not only have their contributions of gifts and service met the needs of people, programs and projects within the community and around the world, but they have also significantly enhanced the grounds and facilities of the university. Gardening, painting and general clean up-fix up activities have been among the myriad of contributions students have made toward the improvement of the campus environment. Clubs, fraternities and sororities, as well as individuals and independent groups, have continually made the institution the benefactor of their handiwork.

Among the early major projects was one that thousands of students, alumni and Baylor fans passed under on their way to attend football, baseball and basketball games at Lee Carroll Field (located between Carroll Science Hall and Waco Creek, property now occupied by the Bill Daniel Student Center). It was called the Championship Arch, and for a decade and a half, the wrought iron structure celebrated the glory days when the Bears captured the conference crown in football (1922, 1924) and baseball (1923).

The genesis for the archway began in January 1917 by the senior class. Following a tradition set several years earlier whereby those planning to graduate at the end of the spring term would leave a reminder of the class’ presence, the 1917 seniors voted to erect an arch over the automobile entrance to the Carroll Field parking area. The arch was to be emblazoned with the class logo (a star with “seventeen” in the middle) and the words “Carroll Field,” both of which were to be prominently displayed. Funding and design difficulties delayed the development of the arch—temporarily at first, but gradually, as time passed, disinterest produced a permanent halt to the project.

The idea of the arch was revived five years later, at the December 6, 1922 meeting of the Baylor Chamber of Commerce, a week after the university had captured the Southwestern Conference football title (eight victories and one loss with total points amassed 275 to 60). Desiring to recognize and

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by Dr. Eugene Baker

celebrate the unprecedented feat in some special way, the group considered erecting a large billboard or an arch at the entrance of the football field. The arch won approval and the university administration immediately announced its support.

This time, the design called for different wording than that which had been suggested by the Class of 1917. Displayed on the 40-foot arch were to be the words: “Carroll Field,” “Home of the Baylor Bears” and “Southwestern Conference Champions.” Since the football squad’s success had been the catalyst for the rebirth of the arch, “Football 1922” lettering was also to be affixed to the wrought-iron sign—and covered in gold leaf! Plenty of room was left to acknowledge future championships, of which many were anticipated.

Even with all the enthusiasm and support from various facets of the Baylor “kingdom,” it would take more than a year before the arch became a reality.

Shortly after it was completed and dedicated in the late spring of 1923, a new addition was needed to recognize the Bears capture of the baseball conference title.

As new lettering was being added that November, a colossal mistake claimed almost as much attention as the recognition. Rather than employing a professional to gold leaf the “Baseball 1923” addition, a student was given the assignment. Thinking that a new coat of paint would brighten the entrance archway, he used green paint for the crossbars and gold for the words and numerals, thereby destroying the striking original gold leafing. Nevertheless, the arch proudly marked the school’s first two athletic conference crowns.

For the 1924 Homecoming contest against Texas A&M, the arch was one of the major talking points of the day. The university had won its first conference game of the season two weeks earlier and the Baylor family believed another victory would put the Bears on the right path to claim another championship.

Even though the game was to be played at the Cotton Palace, a parade originated at the arch after what was dubbed to be the “largest pep meeting ever held on Baylor campus.” The route of the march traversed several downtown streets and concluded at the Raleigh Hotel. Following another full-blown pep rally there, the team was sent off to its gridiron battle.

How much help this spirit boost provided the team is unknown, but it certainly didn’t hurt because the Bears defeated the Aggies 15 to 7 and went on to take the title again without suffering a conference loss.

This time, only three months elapsed before “1924” was added to the arch. New gold leafing was also included and by February 1925, the championship symbol was resplendent in its display of the three conference titles and ready for more athletic accomplishments.

Unfortunately, even though subsequent Baylor teams did their best on the gridiron, diamond and hardwood, new conference crowns failed to be exhibited on the arch ever again.

When construction began on the new Union Building in the late 1930s, the arch was removed. It remained stored in the university’s maintenance facilities for some 75 years, unseen and almost forgotten by the student body and the general public. In 2015, a major donor provided significant funds to initiate a plan for its restoration. As a result of several additional contributions, including a major gift by the Class of 2018, the 27-foot arch will once again be a reminder of Baylor’s early conference championships when it is placed in its new home in the Bill Daniel Student Center this fall, just a stone’s throw from its original location.

Even though the university has added scores of conference and national athletic titles since those early years, the Championship Arch remains the only green and gold metal structure ever erected on campus designed to celebrate Baylor’s athletic successes.

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Life, according to Mike Singletary

Twenty years after he became Baylor’s only player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the famed linebacker reflects on how setbacks, faith and forgiveness lifted him.

By Tom Kertscher

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orn in 1958, Mike Singletary was the youngest of 10 children growing up in Houston. If not for an unhappy childhood, including watching his father leave his mother, Singletary might have never found a path toward success.

My father was a Pentecostal pastor. We had a lot of restrictions as to what we could and could not do, and football was one of them that we couldn’t do.

We were sort of living by the law, rather than grace.

And my mom and dad really just kind of struggled throughout their marriage. There were certainly some good times; but very, very small amounts of good times.

When I was 12, that’s when they divorced. My dad left my mom at that time and decided he wanted to marry somebody else. It was tough for my mom and it was tough for me, even though I was not a fan of my father. It was still something that I hated to see happen, because I know my mom loved my dad. I decided life is not fair, life is really hard, and I made a decision to basically just kind of be mediocre. I wasn’t going to put a lot of effort into anything, just move right along.

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love+ glory But his mother could see what was happening.

My mother sat me down and just began to talk to me and have me understand how difficult life can be - but life can be great; it depends on the choices that we make. And she asked me to be the man of the house. It was a challenge that I didn’t expect. But I thought if she believed I could do it, then I’m going to try.

I really don’t know what I was thinking, I don’t know why I did it.

But I walked in my room and for the first time all of the things that were in my heart, all the things that they were in my mind, I decided that I’m going to write these things down. I wrote out my vision statement. It was to find a way to get a scholarship to go to college.

Get my degree. Become an All-American. Get drafted and go to the NFL. Buy my a mom a house and take care of her the rest of my life. Become an All-Pro and go to the Super Bowl and own my own business. So, I began to live my life according to those rules, to those standards.

His mother gave him permission to play football.

Faith would play an important role.

I always believed that, and my mom told me at a very young age, I could do all things through Christ. And I took that to heart, the first scripture I learned.

There were times that I’d get up at night and go outside. We didn’t have air conditioning and in Houston it’d be really hot; and you lie there and fight the mosquitoes. And sometimes I would just get up and go outside, maybe 12, 1 o’clock in the morning.

And I’d just start running up and down the road. There was a burning desire to be great, to get a scholarship, all those things that were on my wall. There was no, it’s not going to happen, what if it doesn’t happen.

There were times after I’d run, I’d go over there on the side of my house and I’d look up toward the sky and I’d say, Lord, I know you’re up there. All I’m asking you is to just give me the strength to run this race, give me the strength to finish. I want to do all those things and if you would just bless me, if you would just stay with me, I will promise to give you everything I have. And I believed that if I gave that to Him, that he would fulfill what was on that wall. So, I couldn’t cheat — I couldn’t cheat in practice, I couldn’t cheat in the game, I couldn’t cheat in life.

“I can do all things through Christ.”

Then in high school, Singletary confronted skeptics.

I remember the line coach, when he saw me for the first time, he said, “Are you a Singletary?” And I said, “Yes, sir, I am.” And he said, “Well, all you guys, all you Singletarys, are big; I don’t know what happened to you. But all your brothers are big and all they did was get in trouble. I got my eyes on you.”

And the linebacker coach said, “Son, I don’t know if you can play linebacker, you’re a little small. You might want to think about playing safety or corner or something like that.” And I said, “Well, sir, all I know is I’m a linebacker and I know that I can play that if you give me a chance; just let me do it.” Thankfully, I just worked harder.

I just made it work.

Photos courtesy of The Texas Collection

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Singletary excelled enough to win a scholarship to Baylor, where he played from 1977 to 1980. His head-first tackling style broke 16 of his helmets. He set a team record with 232 tackles as a sophomore. He made All-America as a junior and senior and won the Davey O’Brien Award as the top player in the Southwest Conference both years. But it wasn’t as though he was welcomed on the football field as some sort of hero by head coach Grant Teaff or the late Corky Nelson, the linebacker coach and defensive coordinator.

I will never be able to explain how thankful I am to have a father figure like Coach Teaff as my head coach. At the same time, I will never have the words to explain how Corky Nelson taught me everything I know about linebacking. But he was a guy I could not stand. Every day, the man cursed at me, kicked at me, spat at me. I just thought, what did I do to deserve this guy?

But one day, I realized he was just trying to make me better. I called him after probably 10, 12, 13 years just to say thank you. I said, “Coach, I apologize, I am so sorry; I didn’t understand.” I said, “Why couldn’t you do something to show me that you cared anything about me?” And he said, “Mike, I just didn’t know how. I didn’t know how to be your coach and how

to have a relationship with you at the same time; you were very difficult to deal with.”

Corky and I were very much like my father and I. We began to develop a relationship and I began to really appreciate him for who he was. And had it not been for him, I don’t know if I’d ever done anything significant in the NFL, or college.

In 1981, Singletary was drafted by the Chicago Bears of the National Football League; he played all of his 12 seasons there. He missed playing in just two games. He was selected to play in a Bears-record 10 Pro Bowls and was All-Pro eight times. He led the 1985 Bears to a win in Super Bowl XX. And yet he recalls that time as the lowest in his life.

I had done all those things, but yet I was very unhappy. And so I thought, “What the heck is this, God, if I’m doing all this and I’m not happy, what’s the problem?” At that time the Lord showed me that I needed to forgive my father. I began to understand that forgiveness is never for the other person. It’s for you. But I did not want to forgive my dad. I despised my dad; I didn’t want to have anything do with him.

One day, I just picked up the phone and called him. I hadn’t talked to him in a long time.

It didn’t start well. I told him, “Dad, I want you to know I thought about it and I just want you to know that forgive you, I made up my mind to forgive you.” And he said, “Forgive me for what? Son, I put a roof over your head, I put food in your stomach, I put clothes on your back. What else is there?” And for the next hour and a half, we yelled and screamed and cried everything else and when I hung up the phone, something was different.

Not long after that, I flew to Houston from Chicago to sit down with him and began to work through all of the pain and the hate and the hurt. Over the next couple of years, we became very close. I began to understand that my dad could not give me what he didn’t have.

He just didn’t have the tools. And I began to understand in life that, as a parent, if you don’t give your kids the love and understanding and grace, and if they can’t see Christ in you, then they’re going to stumble.

One of the last times I saw my dad, my dad was laying down and he wasn’t feeling very well; he had Parkinson’s. I said, “Dad, I know you’re not feeling very well, but I want you to do something for me. I want you to bless me; I want you to give me the blessing.” And my dad sat up on the side of the bed and I knelt down on my knee. And he put his hand on my head. And he began to pray for me. And he blessed me with the prayer of Abraham. That was a wonderful, wonderful day.

So many people live life without ever really giving thought to what’s in them; and you’re trying to get somewhere, but you don’t know that there’s an anchor tied to all the junk that’s in your life. And many times, we’re trying to move in this boat and not realizing that all we’re going to do is move around in circles because we’re tied to all the junk. But when I forgave my dad, I was released to begin to really live life at a whole new level.

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“I began to understand that forgiveness is never for the other person. It’s for you.”

In 2002, Singletary began coaching in the NFL as linebackers coach with the Baltimore Ravens.

In 2008, he was named interim head coach, and then head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, before being fired after the 2010 season. He then served for three years as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings. Then there was a break from football. In the fall of 2018, Singletary will coach his first season as head coach at Trinity Christian Academy, a high school in Addison, Texas, near Dallas. And he’s taking on a second job as head coach of the Memphis franchise in the Alliance of American Football, a professional league that’s scheduled to start play in 2019. Even after all the coaching he did in the NFL, only now does Singletary truly feel prepared for coaching.

I believe that now I’m at that point to where I’m ready to begin to be everything that God has called me to as a coach. He didn’t call me to just be a coach; he called me to change lives, he called me to change the game, and really to represent him as a coach.

So, I’ve had to do the work. There’s a lot to learn in coaching and so I’ve had to go travel around the country and talk to coaches I respected most and get that information. It’s been tough, but the price is worth it because I don’t need anybody to tell me that I’m going to be a great coach. I know that I’ve done the work. And I am going to be what God has called me to be as a coach.

Tom Kertscher is a PolitiFact Wisconsin reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His reporting on Steven Avery was featured in Making a Murderer. He’s the author of sports books on Brett Favre and Al McGuire. Follow him at TomKertscher. com and on Twitter: @KertscherNews and @KertscherSports 25

More on Singletary 1958

Born Oct. 9 in Houston, the youngest of 10 children. During his childhood, his preacher father left the family (and preaching) for another woman, and two of his brothers died in accidents.

1977-1980

Played football at Baylor. His head-first tackling style broke 16 of his helmets.

Established team record with 232 tackles as a sophomore. All-America as a junior and senior. Won the Davey O’Brien Award as the top player in the Southwest Conference as a junior and senior.

1981

Drafted by the Chicago Bears of the National Football League and played all of his 12 seasons there. Missed playing in just two games. Selected to play in a Bearsrecord 10 Pro Bowls and was All-Pro eight times. Named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1985 and 1988. Led the 1985 Bears to a win in Super Bowl XX.

1991

Inducted into the Baylor Hall of Fame.

1992

Played his final season in the NFL.

1995

Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

1998

Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, becoming the first and only Baylor alumnus enshrined there.

2003

Began NFL coaching career as linebackers coach with the Baltimore Ravens.

2006

Won the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Silver Anniversary Award, which recognizes former student-athletes who completed successful collegiate careers in various sports 25 years ago and went on to excel in their chosen professions.

2008

Named interim head coach, and then head coach of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. Fired after the 2010 season.

2011

Hired as an assistant coach for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, where he served through the 2013 season.

2018

Hired as head football coach at Trinity Christian Academy, a high school in Addison, Texas, near Dallas. The announcement was made March 28. On May 10, it was announced he had been hired as head coach of the Memphis franchise in the Alliance of American Football, a professional league that’s scheduled to start in 2019.

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Book: Singletary on Singletary, with Jerry Jenkins Book: Calling the Shots: Mike Singletary, with Armen Keteyian Book: Mike Singletary One-on-One with Jay Carty Book: Daddy’s Home at Last: What It Takes for Dads to Put Families First with Russ Pate Article: “Samurai -- Complex Man, Simple Goal: To Be The Best. Ever,” Chicago Tribune Article: Mike Singletary: “‘Christ Means Everything,’” 700 Club Article: “Baylor Football Legend: Mike Singletary,” BaylorBears.com

We are the type of team that’s going to have to fight, scratch, and claw for everything we want.

And we have to take the pressure off and go do just that.

- Matt Rhule, following a 26-7 victory over Kansas

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Going for

Gold

Celebrating Baylor Athletics,

championships, and the most accomplished program in Baylor sports history.

Conference Titles Men’s Tennis – 21 Women’s Tennis - 19 Women’s Basketball - 18 Baseball - 9 Football - 8 Men’s Basketball - 5 Women’s Cross Country - 4 Men’s Golf - 3 Men’s Outdoor Track - 3 Equestrian - 3 Soccer - 3 Men’s Cross Country - 2 Men’s Indoor Track - 2 Softball - 1 Women’s Golf - 1 Women’s Indoor Track 1

Big XII Championships – 74

(44 regular season, 30 tournaments)

Southwest Conference Championships – 29

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love+ glory

National Titles 2018 – Acrobatics and Tumbling 2017 – Acrobatics and Tumbling 2016 – Acrobatics and Tumbling 2015 – Acrobatics and Tumbling 2012 – Women’s Basketball 2012 – Equestrian 2005 – Women’s Basketball 2004 – Men’s Tennis * Aside from the national titles, Baylor has won 41 NCAA individual championships, including 20 national titles in the 4x400 meter relay.

Photo courtesy of Baylor Photography

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Budget & Stats

On October 15th, universities around the nation released their annual EADA reports (Equity in Athletics Data Analysis). EADA reports allow the public to view a breakdown of how universities categorize expenses, revenues, and personnel related to athletics.

These reports cover the time period between 6/1/17 and 5/31/18.

Baylor reported the following data: Total Athletes

Expenses Incurred

Men: 239

Football: $28,188,097

Women: 297

Men’s Basketball: $9,185,513

Total Athletes: 536

Women’s Basketball: $8,038,038

Total Full-Time Undergrads: 14,085

Men’s Sports (excluding football and basketball): $8,410,619

Athletically Related Student Aid Men’s Teams: $9,714,088 Women’s Teams: $7,667,219

Women’s Sports (excluding basketball): $16,530,602 Non-Sport Specific Expenses: $24,861,139 Total Expenses: $95,214,007

Total Amount: $17,381,307

Total Annual Revenues

Recruiting Expenses

All Women’s Teams: $24,568,640

Men’s Teams: $1,476,659 Women’s Teams: $570,191 Total Amount: $2,046,850

All Men’s Teams: $59,124,172 Non-Sport Specific Revenues: $11,521,195 Total Revenues: $95,214,007

Average Annual Salaries of Coaches Men’s Head Coaches (6): $967,704 Women’s Head Coaches (9): $411,064 Men’s Assistant Coaches (21): $276,391 Women’s Assistant Coaches (20): $84,159

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Photo courtesy of Baylor Photography

love+ glory

Total Operating Expenses Baseball: $1,049,935 Men’s Basketball: $1,805,516 Women’s Basketball: $2,060,744 Equestrian: $426,324 Football: $5,496,810 Men’s Golf: $270,412 Women’s Golf: $251,546 Gymnastics: $355,684 Women’s Soccer: $487,164 Softball: $527,677 Men’s Tennis: $285,607 Women’s Tennis: $222,350 Men’s Track and Field/ Cross Country: $458,100 Women’s Track and Field/ Cross Country: $599,069 Volleyball: $421,391

To view Baylor’s EADA reports going back to 2005, visit baylorbears.com and search ‘EADA’.

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Vince Clark:

Shepherd of Life,

V

On the Green and In the Classroom

By DJ Ramirez

ince Clark waits for his golfers to arrive at their first tee on a small hill inside Cottonwood Creek Golf Course. They are preparing for a tournament taking place that weekend with a qualifying match. Clark can only take six of his 15 team members to the competition and this match will be the decider. He sets them up in teams of three, and after an initial brief at the starting tee, he watches them play the game his grandfather taught him to love.

Clark grew up in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri playing golf and loving the outdoors, but in 1979 he made Waco his home when he began his undergraduate studies at Baylor University. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in history in 1983 and his law degree from Baylor Law School in 1985, he went on to work in lawsuits for five years. As happy as he was practicing law, Clark felt like something was missing.

“I have been blessed by shepherds who have mentored me down the path to this place,” Clark said. “When I was at Baylor, I went to work for a man named Robert Reid.

He was the chairman of the history department. He was the most popular professor on campus and one of the best teachers. He thought I could be a teacher.”

Inspired by Reid, Clark returned to Baylor to earn his master’s in history and became a college professor at McLennan Community College, where he has been for the past 25 years and has taught over 12,000 students.

In 2007, Clark was named head coach of the Highlanders golf team. Growing up under the influence of his grandfather, who was a master at the game, he learned to love the sport and to appreciate the challenges that come with it. Clark’s goal as a coach is to teach his players to play the game his grandfather taught him.

“The most difficult and most significant challenge for every golfer has to do with themselves,” Clark explained. “The best golfers are the ones who accept and deal with their imperfections. What I want my guys to see is that this game is a game of challenges.

But if you think about it, life’s like that too.”

Clark takes the time and effort to get to know each of his players well, not just as golfers and students, but as men. In this way he learns how to best help each of them achieve their goals and to help make the team better. He creates a family within the team so that they have something to play for that is more than just themselves.

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Clark takes the time and effort to get to know each of his players well, not just as golfers and students, but as men.

Clark has led his Highlanders to three NJCAA Championship titles. He has coached 19 All American, 13 Academic All Americans, and seven Academic All American teams and has been named NJCAA Head Coach of the Year three times. He carries his championship rings in his pocket. He won’t wear them because they’re just too big, but he likes to carry them around to show his players just how proud he is of them.

Every player that has been coached by Clark becomes part of his family. He still speaks to each of his former players, including Hunter Shattuck, a two-time All American at MCC. “Playing for Vince, you learn how to treat people,” Shattuck said of his former coach. “He’ll open the door for people, look them in the eye and tell them to have a good day.”

Shattuck went on to play for Mike McGraw at Baylor, a man who Clark considers one of his shepherds. Clark and McGraw were both inducted into the Golf Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016. In Shattuck’s opinion, they’re the two best golf coaches in the country.

Clark still strives to be better. A better teacher, a better coach and a better man. He starts his day at 4:15 every morning excited and driven because he loves what he does. He makes an impact in the lives of every person he meets.

“I think what I’m really trying to do is be the kind of shepherd that my grandfather and Robert Reid were for me,” Clark said, “not so that I would be remembered but so that they (his students and players), in their later lives can have the same joy and peace that I have.”

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Baylor Football and the 1919 Hurricane

O

ne hundred years ago, a 150-pound freshman named John Tanner III enlisted to play football for the Baylor Bears.

The move was somewhat comfortable for Tanner, a student who had lived his first year of life in the attic of Burleson Hall as the infant son of religion professor John Tanner II. He was also fortunate to be welcomed by President S.P. Brooks who had assisted Tanner’s widow with her husband’s funeral at age 31 and her own burial in 1908.

Young Tanner’s educational future was aided by university tuition assistance, a busboy job in the girl’s cafeteria, and later, a football scholarship.

Tanner’s hometown was listed as Corpus Christi, Texas, where he had lived in a cabin on the beach with the Z.C. Taylors, his adoptive parents. The Taylors had been the first career Baptist missionaries to serve in Brazil. But Tanner’s hometown was to make national news the summer following his freshman year. A mammoth hurricane and flood destroyed the entire city, killing over a thousand citizens without warning. Four of the five occupants of the Taylor home drowned during the night of September 14th. Tanner himself floated 20 miles on a railroad tie in the darkness with 30-foot waves crashing around him.

That fall Tanner returned to Baylor and was asked to describe his experience in chapel. Many years later, Coach Frank Bridges confided that he had dropped in on that service and heard the testimony of his young team member. He admitted that he had determined that day to give Tanner a try at first team running back.

Football was different in the early 1920s. The ball was wider. Safety padding was minimal. Participants played both offense and defense. Play consisted of “singlewing” running similar to rugby. At Baylor, football players were considered ruffians. Some were veterans of WWI. Tanner was told by one of his professors that his Dad would have been ashamed of his son’s football participation.

Tanner went on to lead his team to Baylor’s first Southwest Conference football championship, playing their first postseason bowl-type game against Boston College in Boston. The team traveled by train from Waco to Massachusetts and back.

He also lettered in baseball, pitching alternately with Ted Lyons of Chicago Cubs fame. He also competed in track successfully as a javelin competitor.

Tanner was elected permanent president of the Class of 1922 and is a member of the Baylor Hall of Fame. He was a trustee at Baylor Hospital and was a Baptist deacon and men’s Bible teacher at E. Grand Baptist Church in Dallas.

Story by John Tanner IV (’64)

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Loretta Diane Walker

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I A tired wind rests in the clear lap of day.

In the gentle arms of evening, Old Glory’s stars and stripes are stilled above the courthouse, its colors becoming shadows in the escaping light.

Its meaning radiant, even in the growing darkness.

How do we hang it from the poles of our hearts when the battle is not with steel or blade rather with the struggle to reach for someone or something when turmoil is enemy?

II How does earth, with all of its credentials, decide which plaque to hang on its boundless walls?

In the proud heat of summer, when light deluges day, the white eye of moon stares as clouds veil and unveil the blinding halo of sun.

Isn’t this glory, too— the throaty composition of hummingbirds, delicate art of a field of wildflowers, dissonant chords of crowing roosters, the dew soaked lining in the translucent purse of morning?

III What of the seasons’ revolving doors— the way flames of autumn’s leaves scorch the horizon, how winter’s cold clippers scalp the maple, the oak and weeping mulberry? In their bare beauty, they exalt themselves with stiff raised branches.

See the delight of the embarrassed grass when spring restores its yellowed blades with green dignity, isn’t that glory?

IV For those of us born of woman, how do we rejoice in the frailty of our flesh?

How do we meld our voices to amp the volume of unity?

What wild passion will make us blow the horn of revelry?

Isn’t this glory, to fill the deep ponds of our days with amazement, to feel the feathered breath of God in a handshake?

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Did you miss our interview with former Baylor football coach Art Briles?

Check it out online at baylorlinefoundation.com/briles

38

Alumni stories

Ted Harrison | Gary and Shawn Bridges | Steve Swinney

If you know of an interesting alumni with a unique and compelling story, send us a note at baylorline@baylorlinefoundation.com

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Ted Harrison

By Joy Moton

a

s a high schooler who was grounded for something he couldn’t recall, Baylor alumnus Ted Harrison, BA (Film and Digital Media) ‘11, never would have guessed that this time of punishment would lead to discovering a passion that would eventually gain 1.5 million views on his content.

While he was banned to his room without anything to do, Harrison discovered his old video camera and decided to create a stop motion LEGO animation video. He posted it online and discovered a new way to display his creative talents to the cyber world.

“I realized you can create a whole new world even if you’re stuck in a room,” Harrison said. “You don’t have to be Steven Spielberg or Wes Anderson to put amazing content out there. You can post it online, anyone can see it and the best stuff gets to ultimately rise to the top.”

Knowing he had a passion for film and video production, Harrison chose to attend Baylor as a student in the Film & Digital Media Department. He attributes much of his success to the professors in the department for their well-rounded program and wide variety of creative opportunities.

The department provided him with the opportunity to participate in the Baylor in New York program and to spend four months in Iraq doing video work for the Preemptive Love Coalition, founded by Baylor alumnus, Jeremy Courtney, M.Div (Theology) ‘04.

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“I got to learn a different culture, a different pace of life and got to do some video work for them while I was there to help promote what they were doing mostly at the time which were heart surgeries for children in Iraq,” Harrison said.

“Their motto is to ‘Love first and ask questions later.’ I think that was a fantastic learning experience for me, not just from a global perspective but also just as a human being.”

Along with his memories in the Film & Digital Media Department, Harrison said he developed a love for Baylor athletics the moment he set foot on campus.

He has never supported any other Big 12 team and even made a bet agreeing to eat a cactus if the Bears finished in the bottom half of the Big 12 in 2016.

Harrison has always admired the way Baylor football games unite the community.

“It’s such a cool opportunity to see everyone come together,” Harrison said. “It’s not often that you get 45,000 people in one place that all have something in common, especially today.”

During Harrison’s senior year, Baylor’s football team was rising on a national level.

His growing love for Baylor Athletics inspired him to create hype videos. Harrison’s first videos were promoted by ourdailybears. com, then grew to gain recognition from various websites across the internet including Grantland and ESPN.

Harrison continues to create these videos out of his love for Baylor athletics and developed a massive following, accumulating 1.5 million views on his Baylor related content.

He uses a specific pattern for each video to captivate viewers with a visual story that fosters the same sense of community that is seen at Baylor football games.

“It makes you feel like you’re involved with the team, it makes you feel like there’s a story that you can be a part of and it makes you want to go out on a field and run through a wall yourself,” Harrison said.

After graduating from Baylor, Harrison did freelance work and worked creating videos for various creative and digital agencies from 2012 to the beginning of 2017. He and his wife, Baylor alumna Susan Harrison, BA (International Studies, Journalism) ‘12, moved to Brooklyn, New York in 2017 because he landed a job with Twitter, where he currently works as their Head of Content Optimization.

Harrison would encourage students who are currently pursuing a degree in film to expand the scope of their talents by exploring the different ways they can use film to make a difference. “There’s more than one way to make a mark in the production community,” Harrison said. “Find the ways that your passions merge with business and if you find yourself really enjoying it, don’t be afraid to just jump in and do it.”

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Gary and Shawn Bridges

By Libby Tidwell

If you ask native Texans Shawn and Gary Bridges what inspires them, they have a quick and simple answer : the beauty that surrounds them at their home in Cuchara, Colorado.

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T

he Baylor graduates (Class of 1968) now call the small village just north of the New Mexico border home, where Shawn is an artist, and Gary is an author.

The path they have taken to arrive in Cuchara has been a bit winding, but creativity and service have been deeply ingrained in the couple, first emerging during their time at Baylor. Gary came to Baylor on a football scholarship and studied psychology, while Shawn was an art major. “We met, pretty much, each of our first nights on campus,” Gary said, with a mutual friend connecting them.

Their time at Baylor came to an end at the height of the Vietnam War, and Gary enlisted once he graduated. His time in the Air Force as a pilot took him to more than 30 countries, as well as moving their young family around the country.

After his time in the service, Gary knew psychology was not what he was meant to do.

Instead, he took the practical route, pursuing accounting. While her husband was working in the business world, Shawn pursued her art career, first for her family’s clothing stores in San Antonio as a designer and doing the advertising, and then creating studio art and murals.

firefighter standing in the rain looking up to heaven. Her idea for this painting came about after their home was threatened by a recent wildfire. Their property was saved only after winds changed direction, bringing desperately needed rain. Shawn decided to immortalize the miracle with her art.

While Gary served the country in the military, Shawn has used her art in service to the nation, as well. In the wake of September 11th, Shawn turned to art to process the tragedy.

She painted an image of the hands of God draped in the American flag holding victims of the tragedy. When friends saw the painting, they made copies, sold them and raised money for the victims of the terrorist attacks.

Her original painting now hangs in the Pentagon in memory of the lives that were lost.

As they spend to their days in Cuchara, the Bridges continue to be inspired by the path that has brought them to Colorado and the landscape that surrounds them.

The desire to raise their family in a quieter setting drew the Bridges to a ski town in Colorado, where they opened various stores. However, the businesses struggled and eventually closed down. Providentially, Gary was offered a job teaching accounting at Colorado State University at Pueblo.

Surprisingly for him, he loved it, and continued as a professor for 30 years.

While Shawn had felt her calling to art from an early age, Gary didn’t truly tap into his creativity until 2006. Years earlier, on a horseback ride with his son and a family friend in Colorado, Gary realized his desire to write. “When we finished [the ride], I started thinking about, ‘Gosh, that would make a really good story.’” In 2006, he wrote his first novel, The Cuchara Chronicles, and he is currently working on his eighth book.

In the ways that Cuchara has deeply influenced Gary’s writing, the beauty surrounding their home in Colorado has also inspired Shawn.

One of her most recent paintings is of a

Visit shawnbridges.com or the Timbers Gallery in Cuchara, to see Shawn’s work.

Gary’s novels are available on Amazon.

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Steve Swinney

By Cole Niles

Legacy is how our lives are remembered, and Steve Swinney’s is proudly tinted Green and Gold.

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T

he year is 1961 in Waco, Texas.

A nine-year-old boy approaches a massive stadium to watch his first ever college football game.

Walking to his seat, he absorbs a breathtaking scene.

The crowd hollers. The band blares their age-old rendition of “That Good Old Baylor Line.” For the first time in his life, the boy gazes out as the Baylor Football team takes the field. Looking up to his dad, he smiles with excitement and tugs his dad’s shirt.

“I’m going to play football for the Bears one day,” he promises his father.

And so he did.

A native of Amarillo, Texas, Steve Swinney knew from that day on that he would be a Bear. His father was in the Air Force, stationed at Waco’s James Connally Base during the 1959 Baylor football season. While Steve’s family would go on to move to Wyoming, Oregon, New Mexico, and even Germany, the young man never could get the image of those green jerseys out of his head.

The Bears were coming off of a winless season in which they scored only 87 points through ten games.

These struggles would continue until 1972, when Baylor hired a new football coach: Grant Teaff.

“It was a great experience,” Steve said of playing under Coach Teaff, who would go on to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The two became close during their time at Baylor, as Teaff was able to mentor the young man on and off of the field.

After four years of school and football, Steve graduated from Baylor to enter the business world.

He worked in insurance, living in Oregon before bouncing back to San Antonio and finally settling in Dallas. In 2015, he decided to retire from the insurance business and take on a new challenge, becoming Director of Marketing at The Video Biography Company.

The Video Biography Company creates personal, documentarystyle videos for those who want to preserve their life stories.

Steve was hooked on the idea, and immediately thought back to his time as a Baylor Bear.

He attended Randolph AFB High School in San Antonio, Texas, where he excelled at football.

He was eventually offered a scholarship by Baylor, which he accepted immediately. Steve was on his way to fulfilling the promise he made to his father.

“One of the first things that I wanted to do was get the life stories of iconic Baylor coaches,” he said. The ambitious undertaking was rooted in his love for Baylor athletics and deep connections to his time in Waco.

“When I got here, it was a pretty tough time for Baylor Athletics,” Steve recalled. Arriving in Waco in 1970, he entered into a football program that was limping.

It didn’t take long for Steve to orchestrate the creation of videos for legendary Baylor coaches Bill Menefee, Dutch Schroeder, and of course, Grant Teaff. Drawing from interviews with the coaches themselves, as well as their former players, the company created personal video biographies for each of the three icons.

“There is just an incredible consistency to these men,” he said of the trio of Menefee, Schroeder, and Teaff. “They are not only great coaches… They were there to develop men. The wins were a byproduct of having good people, growing them up, teaching them, and coaching them.”

“The influence that they’ve had on the players, students, and alumni…” he paused.

“It’s immeasurable.”

When asked about his current relationship with Coach Teaff, Swinney smiled. “Coach Teaff and I have been friends for a very long time.” He still looks back on his days as a Bear as some of the formative experiences of his entire life. “This truly has been a labor of love for me, as I love each of these men, and I’m so appreciative of the influence they’ve had on me.”

Steve hopes to soon work with Baylor’s visionary track coach Clyde Hart, who mentored multiple Olympic gold medalists, the most famous being 400-meter champions Michael Johnson and Sanya Richards. Hart currently still serves Baylor as the Director of Track and Field.

For Steve Swinney, legacy isn’t just important— it’s essential.

Legacy is what prompted Steve to join The Video Biography Company in 2015. It’s what brought him to Waco 45 years earlier. Legacy is the same force that caused a small boy to promise his dad he would be a Bear in 1959, and then pushed him to fulfill that promise.

For more information about the Video Biography Company, you can connect with Steve at sswinney@gmail.com, or visit videobiographycompany.com 45

NEW

By: Sophia Alejandro

PODCAST INTRODUCES GRADS TO A BAYLOR THEY NEVER KNEW AT

the whiteboard, Jon is demanding answers.

Six months ago, he came up with an idea: to tell the untold stories of Baylor, using a podcast.

In the time that followed, Jonathon Platt, currently a journalism graduate student at Baylor, developed a team for this pursuit. I joined Behind The Bear in February 2017 as one of the researchers. Together, we searched high and low for the pivotal periods and people of Baylor’s history.

Now, it was coming together, being laid out like a map.

“What goes here?” Jon asked, pointing to an empty space on our outline.

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On a given weekday, Jon is dressed formally, with his shirt tucked in and a matching pocket square poking out of his sports coat. He carries a leather briefcase on his shoulder. His green glasses make him stand out in a crowd of people. It’s his storytelling, though, that makes him stand out to an audience.

“Jon is a very avid researcher,” said Shehan Jeyarajah, a close friend from Jon’s time as an undergraduate at Baylor. “He really likes to get down to the bottom of things. He really loves the idea of telling stories and trying to understand how things are. He loves history and trying to understand why things are the way they are. I think he does this through building relationships with people and trying to search out people who have answers to the questions that he wants to know.”

Being equally curious and observant allows for Jon to ask the questions that matter. If you can’t ask the right questions, you can’t find the right story.

“He can find little nuggets of history that haven’t been examined before, then he delves into them,” Maleesa Smith added. “I think he loves the discovery. It is almost like he is solving something.”

Jon wanted to create a way for Baylor graduates to reconnect with their university.

He decided the best medium for this was a podcast. One day, the name came to him: Behind The Bear.

Jon’s plan is to find the most pivotal periods in Baylor’s history. The ones that helped make the university what it is today.

Each episode has a different, but interconnected story, Jon said. The theme for season one is the path of Baylor’s decision to desegregate. Ultimately, Jon’s goal is that you will meet a Baylor you never knew.

“The way he has formatted it, it is for alumni who still want to connect with Baylor. And that is kind of a challenge after you graduate.” Smith said, “I’m a recent graduate and I go back for the football games, but apart from that, I don’t really have a connection with Baylor anymore. And it is hard because that is where your first steps as an adult happen. So I think he is helping you get back to that community, without having to make that trip to Waco.”

The idea for Behind The Bear stems from Jon’s desire to tell the stories of those who cannot tell their own.

When people hear the episodes, it will begin a conversation about a place many people believe they already know so well.

What sparked Jon’s feeling to tell these stories, specifically?

“He had a real heart for civil rights and justice issues,” said Professor Robert Darden, Jon’s mentor at Baylor.

Darden has been one of the most influential figures in Jon’s life since his freshman year at Baylor. In 2017, Darden was working on a story and came across Dr. Vivienne MaloneMayes’ grave. She was the first African American professor at Baylor, and one of the first women in the nation to earn a doctorate degree in mathematics. She was involved in the civil rights movement and worked to make Baylor a home for all students.

The grave Darden found had been vandalized. He was upset. He took Jon to witness it for himself. Together they stood, sad, angry, and confused.

“I [didn’t] know, at the time, that I felt like I was passing it on,” Darden said. “But, if I was, I hope at some point he passes it on too.”

ULTIMATELY,

Jon hopes Behind The Bear will start conversations between generations of Baylor Bears. It will not only help reconnect those who have already left, and those who are just receiving their Baylor Line jerseys, but also the Bear Cubs who are to come.“This is the story that was given to me,” Jon said. “I’m now responsible for it. How dare I not tell it?”

Behind The Bear is a podcast that will be available in the Fall of 2018. Episodes can be found on iTunes, or by visiting behindthebear.com.

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50 Businesses Under One Roof

How Co-working Spaces Are Bringing Baylor Alumni Together By Stephanie Jatnieks

WacoWork is providing a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and freelancers to work together under the same roof.

While the businesses and personalities are vastly different, many of the members share one thing in common: a degree from Baylor.

Co-working isn’t a new concept by any means, though many people are still unfamiliar with all that the term encompasses. It is becoming more and more mainstream, and this ‘coworking movement’ has been moving from cities like New York, Dallas and LA to smaller ones such as Waco. Typically, a co-working space is organized much like a hip coffee shop, but with the functionality and perks of a modern office.

The space is outfitted with things like modern furniture, conference rooms, private offices, a coffee and beer bar, high-end printers, photo studios, and other staples like high speed wifi. The setup also allows Baylor alumni who have chosen to call Waco their permanent home a place to conduct their business without having to lease an office space with expensive overhead.

Most importantly, working in a shared space gives you the ability to bounce ideas off of people with different skillsets and perspectives.

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In Waco, co-working is connecting alumni from different backgrounds and continuing the Baylor community in a unique way.

Not only does this bring a diversity of grads together, it allows them to collaborate and create in new ways as they meet and share ideas from their many different business sectors. Businesses represented at Waco Work include IT, consulting, real estate, web design, writing, law, photography, tourism, and everything in between.

Caroline Thornton (’16) was instrumental in how Waco Work came together. From the beginning she helped design, organize and network to get the space up and running.

“The more I got involved in Waco, the more that circle just came to life. You got to see Baylor alums from different areas serving the city in different ways,” Caroline said.

Baylor grads Zach Morrow and Laura Soundy run a startup company called Flourish that helps credit card users easily donate to non-profits.

The co-working space has given them the ability to gain marketing and web-design advice from other members who are experienced in those fields.

“People can introduce you to subjects you might be interested in even though it might not directly help with your business. It’s also nice to just have those interesting

conversations and make intergenerational friendships,” Zach said.

Being in this shared space in Waco and with other alumni also means that you already share a common bond, not only because you ran the line or had the same professor, but because you learned the same values.

“I think it is really cool to work with other Baylor alumni who share my experiences.

Even though we majored in different things, we have that same educational mindset,” Laura said of meeting other members who went to Baylor.

Luke Russell is another Baylor alumni who does equipment sales for oil and gas companies. When asked to describe his favorite part of co-working, Luke said, “The thing I would tell someone most is the interactions you have with people – laughter, jokes, people pushing you to do your best and to really take the day – that would be the advantage over just a business space, or coffee shop.”

This is what makes coworking spaces unique, it is truly a collective community of people from all different backgrounds, and fields of interest who come together to work independently, yet share ideas together.

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We’ve Only Just Begun

35 Years of Baylor Sisterhood

Mimi Terry Bommarito, Baylor University, Class of 1986

Back in the Big Hair 80’s, I was a proud Baylor Bear who thought she had life all figured out by the time she was old enough to call herself a college student. Like Mary Tyler Moore joyously flinging her beret skyward, I had made it, after all. Welcome to a dormitory world full of hundreds of potential new friends.

College life was all about the here and now. I doubt I ever wondered whom I would be hanging with in my 50’s, and what we might be discussing. I felt fairly certain I would stay young forever, devouring pizza at midnight and always having plenty of time and energy to connect with my girlfriends.

Sure, we were all pursuing our degrees, contemplating our career choices and perhaps scanning the horizon for a future mate, but in my still very childlike mind, why would that change anything?

Even as a college senior, it’s simply too daunting to confront the truth: how graduation day arrives, and eventually everyone’s paths begin to diverge. Much like the effects of the aging process, it’s easier to let that truth sneak up on you.

Take our faces, for example. At age 54, my road map of “laugh lines” thankfully did not appear all at once—although, for some unexplainable reason, I always seem to spot a brand new one every year on my birthday.

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It’s not as if a door slams when you leave college and you never see your girlfriends again. Finally enjoying the benefits of a regular paycheck, we enjoyed dinners out after work, the occasional girls’ trip, lots of birthday celebrating, and hosted engagement parties, bridal showers and bachelorette parties for one another.

But as the calendar pages flipped, the soundtracks to our lives began, ever-soslightly, to take on a new rhythm. Careers became more consuming, jobs took us farther away for better opportunities, babies arrived and adorably sucked up every last ounce of remaining free time. Mistakes were made, life choices were questioned, divorces happened, therapy was sought, re-evaluating and restructuring occurred. Our parents became increasingly fragile. New social communities were formed around the active and demanding lives of our children or careers. Sleep became a precious commodity. Lumps were discovered, health issues surfaced. Our mortality was highlighted, much like our hair, on a sacred and timely basis, to keep us looking youthful. And don’t even get me started on how a gym membership was no longer an indulgence once we hit 40.

These issues crept in like squatters and began to occupy the increasingly crowded space in our heads.

We wore many hats, juggled many plates and bore many burdens. I never stopped to realize how drastically life had changed from my college days of taking it one semester at a time, and successfully making ends meet off of tips from my part-time job as a waitress at Red Lobster.

Back in those simpler times I never imagined myself as a bona-fide adult, with bona-fide adult challenges and a To Do list that kept me awake at night. Years went by where our lives were simply too chaotic for eight women to agree on one weekend to take off and indulge in three days worth of “catching up.”

One of the positive things about middle age is that you finally start feeling like you have a little time for yourself again. Suddenly,

there were more and more weekends without a Little League game or a piano recital, and a reunion or two wasn’t such a farfetched possibility after all. Recalling my younger years had begun to feel more like watching a film than participating in my own memories, and I hoped that reconnecting with old friends would correct that.

When I reunite with these Baylor sisters, it brings me great joy and giddiness to ditch my adult self for a few days and return to that ridiculously carefree girl I was in college. In our minds’ eye, that is how we all view each other. Our old stories are like legendary campfire tales, they grow bigger and better at every re-telling, and we never grow tired of hearing them.

Since turning 50, we recognized the importance of reuniting as often as possible, even though we are inconveniently spread out across the country and the globe. All eight of us were pledge sisters in Pi Beta Phi. Only two of us in the attached photo knew each other prior to college, the rest of us were drawn together solely through living in Collins Hall and through pledging the sorority.

“Thanks to Baylor, in addition to receiving a valuable education, I received sisters.”

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Throughout our four years on campus, in the imaginary Venn Diagram of our lives, we all intermingled in several different friend groups. It was not as if all eight of us lived together or did everything together, but somehow a strong, magical bond amongst us has withstood the test of time. It’s as if a real-life Hogwarts “Sorting Hat” clearly knew, if we were thrown into the same pledge class back in 1983, a robust chemistry would emerge.

Most recently, we gathered in July of 2018 at the Aspen vacation home of Lauren Keathley Read. Upon departure, I penned in Lauren’s guest book: “Had we the opportunity to stare into a crystal ball during our Baylor days, to glimpse our future selves seated around your dining room table last night, laughing and crying, humbly admitting our deepest troubles and sharing our deepest joys, I think, overall, despite the setbacks, we would have been thrilled with the preview.”

Perhaps we would have been amazed— but intrigued is probably a more accurate word— to foresee how we had all embraced and owned an impressive array of life events: divorces, deaths, solid marriages, second marriages, miscarriages, children, step children, disabled children, grandchildren, cancer, career crises, personal crises, financial worries and even political differences, all enriching and seasoning the Great American Novels that comprise our collective soul. Maybe we shed a few tears, but overall, we are smiling, we are uplifting, we are together. This time, by choice.

When the planets align it is powerful, and when old friends align it creates a powerful energy, too.

There exists, for me, such a comfort in quality time spent with olden, golden friends. A sorority is so much more than an outlet for your free time in

college, although I would never expect any young person to be able to truly understand this until you have lived more than two decades of your life.

When I began to lay down roots during my years at Baylor and make friends, I unwittingly made an investment in my future happiness. At the time, I didn’t even realize my wisdom in creating such a valuable support system for my older self. I just loved being with girls who loved El Chico or Oso Burrito as much as I did! I sometimes questioned whether I was truly cut out for sorority life, but I never questioned my love and appreciation for these loyal friends.

Thanks to Baylor, in addition to receiving a valuable education, I received sisters. Sisters who make me feel young and invincible again, sisters who make my face hurt from too much laughing, sisters who know the real me and loved me anyway, even when I was a self-absorbed closet-raider who never contributed her fair share of toilet paper. A treasured relationship I hope I can write about again some day, when we all hit 100.

Photo left to right: Lauren Keathley Read (co-founder of the Jeffrey Alan and Lauren Keathley Read Departmental Endowed Scholarship for Real Estate majors and whose son Bryan attends Baylor); Kathy Stanton Ambrose (Bear Foundation member, three of her children graduated from Baylor, Daniel, Amy and Kyle); Jennifer Philpot, Lauren Orsini Hammerberg, Kelly Chandler Michaels (past president of the East Texas Baylor Women’s Network and Baylor Alumni Lifetime Member); Marjo Glass Richmond (Baylor Alumni Member) Mimi Terry Bommarito, and Jill McDonnell Gibson (daughter Carly currently attends Baylor, she jokes she and her husband are in the “Tuition Club”) All of us pledged together as freshmen in Spring of 1983, Baylor’s Texas Zeta Chapter of Pi Beta Phi.

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REMEMBERING

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Betty Dilday Betty Doyen Dilday, who graduated Baylor in 1952 along with her husband, Russell H. Dilday, died Aug. 9 at 87. At a memorial service Aug. 14, her three children — Robert H. Dilday (’78), Nancy Dilday Duck (’80), and Ellen Garrett (’81) — each reflected on her life. This is a condensed version of their comments.

T

ributes are, by definition, words intended to show gratitude, respect, and admiration for an individual, but words seem inadequate to express the love we have for our mother, who wore many hats. She was the ultimate pastor’s wife, a widely respected teacher, and president of many organizations, but to us she was Mom. Growing up in a minister’s home, we shared our parents with many others. Although at times they were stretched thin, we never felt second place. Family was first. It was important to Mom to make every house we lived in a beautiful and comfortable home — from parsonages with no air conditioning to spacious houses in Houston and Atlanta, from the president’s mansion at Southwestern Seminary to, most recently, their apartment in Richardson. They were places where family gathered, milestones were celebrated, and holidays observed, where she and Dad taught us the love of Jesus and the greatness of God. Mom sang songs of faith to us at bedtime — hymns that are hidden in our hearts forever. As small children we could sing all the verses of What a Friend We Have in Jesus and, of course, every word of That Good Old Baylor Line.

She loved us fiercely and not a day went by that she didn’t tell us how proud she was of us. Her undying love for Dad showed us the true meaning of a Christian marriage. She was not always gentle and meek; in fact, she was a beast when it came to protecting Dad and our home. Mom claimed the words in 2 Timothy 1:7: “For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”

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om taught us about ministry because she knew what it meant to be called into it. Many of you knew her as a pastor’s wife or First Lady of the seminary, but these weren’t her only callings. Her strongest calling was as a child of God, intent on sharing the gospel to those who came into her life. Growing up, we would hear her on the phone inviting people to church; at the grocery store, the beauty shop, even at teachers conferences (and we all had many of those) she would ask the people she encountered where they went to church. She always felt it was her calling to take every opportunity to invite people to a place of community and worship.

When things got tough in ministry and in life, Mom displayed God-given grace and forgiveness. She remembered Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, our very present help in times of trouble,” and taped Bible verses around mirrors at home to fortify Dad through many of those times. She was a true encourager.

An attentiveness to others was paired with a keen intellect, which was honed in earning a bachelor’s degree at Baylor and graduate degrees at Georgia State University and B.H. Carroll Theological Institute. She had a razor-sharp memory and placed it in the service of the church by teaching and writing a book — and perhaps most significantly in retaining the details of the lives of every person she met. She had a computer-like recall of those details — the names of children and grandchildren, the churches they served, what year they graduated from Baylor. These represented for her more than just trivia. To truly know people was to know the contours of their lives and to honor those.

Family and friends, the intellectual life and ministry, were all important to Mom — but so was fashion. She always looked her absolute best, and she wanted her children to do the same. She was never shy or cautious about advising us what to wear and how to wear it. We laugh at the memory of comments like, “Robert, did you not have time to iron your shirt?” “Ellen, Nancy? Want a little more lipstick? I have some in my purse!” Mom had dignity and pride and was a woman of excellence, and she held those same high expectations of us.

All in all, she did run the race that God set before her — in style and with lipstick!

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OBITUARIES

Visit us at baylorlinefoundation.com to submit your notes, events, and obituaries.

Raymon Charles (Ray) Stoker, Jr., 79 years, passed away after an illness Friday, August 31, 2018. Ray was born in Odessa, TX, February 19, 1939 to Raymon Charles Stoker, Sr. and Claudene Stoker.

Following in the family tradition, Ray attended Baylor University, and in 1961 he received his BBA. He began Baylor on a baseball scholarship, but due to bursitis in his shoulder, he had to stop playing. Determined to find another sport, he taught himself to play golf and was told by the golf coach that if he could beat one of the players on the Baylor Team, he would receive a spot on the roster and a partial scholarship, which is exactly what he did. Both Ray and his father served as captain of the Baylor Golf Team their senior year. During his years as an undergraduate student at Baylor, Ray was a member of Tryon Coterie (Delta Sigma Phi), and was the President of the Letterman’s Club.

In 1964 Ray graduated with his Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree from Baylor Law School. During his years as a law student, he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and the Baylor Law Review Editorial Board.

Ray was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1964, and admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Court, Western District of Texas.

Ray and Carole Fannin were married August 24, 1963, in Odessa at the First Presbyterian Church, and celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary this past week.

After graduating from Baylor, Ray and Carole moved to Austin, where he worked as a briefing attorney for Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert W. Calvert. In 1965 they moved back to Odessa, where Ray joined the Shafer Law Firm, where he practiced 53 years. Ray was an active member in the Odessa community. He was involved in many organizations around the Permian Basin and the state.

Ray was appointed to the Texas State Highway and Public Transportation Commission in July of 1985 by former Baylor Law classmate and friend Governor Mark White. Because of his work, in 2005, Ray was inducted into the Transportation Hall of Honor.

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Ray received numerous honors throughout his life including the dedication of the Ray Stoker, Jr. Highway, 1993; the dedication of the Ray Stoker, Jr. Ferry Boat, 1997, servicing Galveston to Bolivar; the Heritage Award of Odessa for service in a profession; the Coleman County Chamber of Commerce Award; the Russel Perry Transportation Award, 1993; Odessa Citizen of the Year, 1991; Transportation Award San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, 1992; UTPB President’s Council, 1992; Outstanding West Texan by the West Texas Regional Council of the Texas Chamber of Commerce; All Southwest Conference Athlete in Golf, 1960-61; American College of Trial Lawyers; Fellow of American Bar Foundation.

One of Ray’s favorite hobbies was hunting, especially hunting behind his English Pointers during quail season, and Labrador Retrievers during dove season. Ray also loved to fish and spent countless hours fishing for bass.

Ray and Carole traveled to many great places and had so many memorable trips with friends.

Carole shared about Ray, “He is the kind of man you hope your son will resemble. He has so many characteristics that are admirable and realistic. He truly was a man of genius, honesty, courage, love, athletic ability, emotional stability, and humor. He thought of his fellow man, and tried his best to help other’s causes. His beliefs were strong and rigid. His faith in God saw him through many trials and uncomfortable situations, enabling him to grow in strength and stature. Truly a man to admire and of whom I was very proud.”

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the West Texas Food Bank, PO Box 4242, Odessa, TX 79761, or the Raymon Charles Stoker Sr. Memorial Golf Scholarship at Baylor University, Office of University Development, One Bear Place #97026, Waco, TX 76798-7026.

Tom Alan Langston, BA ‘63, died August 6, 2017 and age 76 in San Jose, CA. He was born in New Mexico to parents LaMoine and Greta Langston, and was the brother to Margreta Langston Heneghan. Tom was the beloved husband of Carol M. Langston for 45 yrs. Tom was an avid golfer since age of 13. He earned a golf scholarship to Baylor University where he played on the golf team. He also loved to hike. Reading was one of his greatest enjoyments at the last stages of his illness. Tom made many friends from his golfing passion. A friend to Tom was a friend for life, including his Baylor golf team members. Tom loved Baylor and watched all sport games with passion. Tom fought prostrate cancer - metastatic to bone - bravely for 9 yrs. Now he can rest in peace. We will miss you dearly, Tom.

Rus Roach died on May 5, 2016 from Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer. He graduated from Baylor in 1974, went on to Southwestern Baptist theological seminary for his Masters degree and also for his doctoral degree. He was on staff at First Baptist Nashville Tennessee for 29 years. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Debbie Cameron Roach ‘74, Holly Roach Boutwell ‘2002, Heather Roach Hannabass and Hailey Roach along with 5 grandchildren. He loved his Lord and his family.

Debbie Roach can be found at 102 Gillette Drive, Franklin, TN 37069 or by email at roachdmom@bellsouth.net.

John Norman Iler went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, August 16, 2018, at the age of 82. He passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by family, after a battle with cancer.

He was born to the late James Cleve Iler Jr. and Jean Helfrich Iler on October 20, 1935.

After graduating from high school in Louisville, Kentucky, he followed his older brother Cleve to Texas to attend Baylor University where he earned a B.B.A. in Management and a B.S. in Mathematics and met his loving wife of fifty-nine years: Lois Ann Weatherall Iler of Electra, Texas. The two married on June 27, 1959, and enjoyed a lifetime together raising their three boys in Houston, Texas, where John worked for Shell Oil Company for thirty years before retiring at the age of fifty-four.

His passions included his faith, his family, church mission work, golf, and all things Baylor.

He enjoyed a full life: coaching his sons, traveling with his wife, playing golf at Pine Forest Country

Club, attending Baylor events, and attending the numerous events of his grandchildren whom he dearly loved. He was a charter member of the Houston Racquet Club.

John was a man of great faith and served as a Sunday School teacher and deacon at River Oaks Baptist before moving to Tallowood Baptist Church where he served as a deacon, actively participated on various committees, taught ninth grade boys Sunday School and faithfully served for twenty-two years at West End Mission.

In lieu of flowers, family and friends can honor the memory of John Norman Iler through memorial gifts made to Tallowood Baptist Church Foundation/Church Planting at 555 Tallowood Road, Houston, Texas, 77024, or by donating to the “John Norman Iler Memorial Fund” on the Baylor giving memorial site at www.Baylor.edu/giving/memorialfunds

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Dr. W. R. Wortman, Jr., known all his life as “Pat” by virtue of having been born on St. Patrick’s Day and welcomed into the world by the attending physician’s comment, “Well, here’s another little Pat,” died March 14, 2018 at the age of 91.

Pat was a product of the public school system of Beaumont, Texas and always claimed that Ogden School was the finest elementary school in the land. It was from Odgen School, and from a mother who constantly read to him, that he acquired his lifelong love of books and learning. This love of books and learning would eventually lead him to become a Professor of English at Baylor University where, like the Clerk in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, “gladly would he learn, and gladly teach.”

A member of the Greatest Generation, Pat volunteered for the Army in 1943 and served in the South Pacific and the Philippine Islands during WWII. When he returned to Texas after his service, he enrolled in Baylor University where he met and married Liby Covington, which he always said was the best decision he ever made. With Liby’s help, Pat earned a Bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, a Master’s degree from Lamar University, and a PhD. from the University of Texas.

Pat and Liby are the parents of two daughters, E’Lynne Elliott and Patti Mitchell. All four family members became educators, a fact which pleased them all. Pat retired as Professor Emeritus of English after thirty years of service to Baylor University. He was a member of a number of professional organizations and frequently presented papers at professional meetings. In 1972, the Baylor student body elected Dr. Wortman as Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year. That was the last year that the selection was left entirely to the choice of the student body, which made the honor even more meaningful. One of Pat’s unique contributions to Baylor is that he originated the idea that Baylor should have a ceremonial mace for use in graduations and other formal occasions. He assisted in selecting the artifacts used and created the design for the official mace that is still in use today. Pat was honored to be named Bearer of the Mace for Baylor’s Fall 1997 commencement exercises.

Pat enjoyed a wide variety of avocational interests. In his younger days, he enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson 80 Flathead motorcycle. He was a charter member of the Beaumont Symphony Orchestra, and a member of several Civic Chorus groups and church choirs, where he added his beautiful bass voice to some of the world’s great choral music. He enjoyed target shooting, building model railroad layouts, using tools (especially woodworking tools), photography, amateur acting (he played the part of Dr. A. J. Armstrong in the 1982 production of The Towers of the Brazos, Orlin Corey’s play about Baylor’s history) and book collecting. He was particularly proud of his first editions of some of the works of C. S. Lewis. Pat and his family were always enthusiastic campers and travelers. He and Liby especially loved cruising. Many of Pat’s interests included service to others.

He was a Volunteer Fireman in Moody, Texas, the Red Cross Disaster Chairman in Beaumont, a volunteer with the Victim Service Unit of the Waco Police Department, and a volunteer (after having undergone quadruple bypass surgery himself) with the Hillcrest Heart to Heart program. His favorite later-in-life volunteer job was driving the Providence Hospital golf cart, ferrying patients from the parking lots to their destinations on the Providence campus.

Pat considered himself exceptionally blessed by a kind and merciful Heavenly Father. His prayer for Liby, during her lifetime, for his daughter E’Lynne and her husband Alan, his daughter Patti and her husband Greg, for his grandchildren Angela and Ryan Gough, Katy and Darrell Brunson, Mary and John Skinner, William and Melanie Elliott and Scott Simpson, for his great-grandchildren Corley and Wesley Elliott, Ethan Gough and Emily Skinner, for his dear sister Nancy Beth Davenport and her late husband Ken, and for other family and friends was this: The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Memorials may be made to Pat and Liby Wortman Memorial Fund, Midway Education Foundation, 13885 Woodway Drive, Woodway, TX 76712.

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Hornor Newton Shelton, 93, of Waco, Texas, passed away March 23, 2018. The memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 26th at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Waco Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Sunday, March 25th at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home.

Hornor was born September 30, 1924, to Perry Wayne and Mary Morrow Shelton in Ft. Worth, Texas. He grew up in the Waco area, attending LaVega ISD schools where his father was the school district superintendent. An athletic youth, Hornor played school sports including baseball, football, and tennis.

His attendance at Baylor University was interrupted by military service. As a Marine during WWII, he was stationed in Japan. Returning to Baylor after the war, Hornor received his BA in 1948, and JD in 1949.

A fortuitous blind date to a Baylor football game brought Hornor and Melba Brown together and they were married June 30, 1949. Being called back into military service in 1951, for the Korean War, he served as a legal officer in Korea and was honorably discharged as a Captain in 1955.

Hornor began his long and successful career as a real estate and title insurance attorney with Stewart Title Company in 1950. Over the next 42 years he managed offices in Ft. Worth, El Paso and Houston. He was highly respected in the industry for his attention to detail and closed many of the largest commercial real estate transactions in the Houston area. Hornor ended his career with Charter Title Company having received numerous awards and citations during his career. In 1992, at its annual convention, the Texas Land Title Association bestowed on Hornor its prestigious Member for Sustained Meritorious Service Award. He was also a proud Rotarian for over 50 years in both Houston and Waco and achieved perfect attendance much of that time.

His love of Baylor was apparent to all. He only missed a handful of Baylor Homecomings during his entire life. Holding Baylor football season tickets for nearly 50 years, Hornor added men’s and women’s basketball season tickets after his retirement to Waco.

He was proud that all of his children and grandchildren graduated from Baylor. In 2005, the Baylor Alumni Association honored the Perry and Mary Shelton Family with its First Families of Baylor Award, having four generations of Baylor graduates.

Hornor had a constant love for his family which he demonstrated in many ways, both large and small. Quality time spent with his wife, children and grandchildren was the highlight of his retirement years.

Most importantly Hornor’s love of God and faith in Christ were the primary influences in his life and directed every important decision he made. He held leadership positions in each Baptist church where he was a member. Now Hornor leaves behind a legacy of faith and family.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Columbus Avenue Baptist Church, P.O. Box 345, Waco, Texas 76703 or The Melba and Hornor Shelton George W. Truett Theological Seminary Endowed Scholarship Fund, Office of University Development, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97050, Waco, Texas 76798-7050.

Betty Louise Doyen Dilday was born in Houston on April 8, 1931 to Jewel and Lavergne Doyen. She passed away on August 9, 2018 from complications from Pulmonary Fibrosis.

She went through Houston public schools, and then graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She later did graduate study at Georgia State University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and B.H. Carroll Theological Institute where she received a Master of Arts in Religion.

Betty met Russell (R.H.) Dilday in Bible class their junior year in Baylor. They were married on August 15, 1952 after Baylor graduation.

When Russell entered Seminary, Betty taught school in Ft. Worth. When Betty and Russell moved to Atlanta, GA to pastor the SecondPonce de Leon Baptist Church, Betty again taught in public schools while their three children were attending Baylor.

Betty accepted Christ as her personal Savior at nine years of age and was baptized in First Baptist Church Houston. She served all her life as a Bible teacher, graded Choir assistant, and missions leader. She served along side Russell for seventeen years in Texas and Georgia. She continued that role for sixteen years while Russell served as President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She also enjoyed a year as Interim President’s Wife with Russell at Howard Payne University. In Atlanta and Dallas, Betty encouraged a group of women to serve as volunteers to take smaller arrangements from the large altar flower arrangement to hospitals and shut ins. This became an important flower ministry for those churches.

Betty was named permanent secretary for her class of 1952 and Russell was named president. In 2011, she was named Woman of Distinction by the Baylor Dallas Women’s Council, and in 2017 the R.H. Dilday family was awarded the title Baylor’s First Family by the Baylor Line Foundation.

Betty and Russell traveled extensively to all six continents visiting missionaries and encouraging Baptist work there.

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Russell Blailock Tackle All SWC ‘22

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