• Bear Foundation members step up to support Baylor student-athletes

    Baylor student-athletesAthletic success — be it the Baylor men’s and women’s basketball teams this spring, the volleyball team’s Sweet 16 run last fall, the tennis teams’ run of Big 12 dominance, or excellence in any other sport — can be a lot of fun as well as a a boost to the university in other areas (national media exposure, increased name recognition, a rise in applications and giving, etc.).

    But it takes money to provide scholarships for all those teams; more than 400 student-athletes are on some form of athletic scholarship here at Baylor. Thankfully, the members of the Baylor Bear Foundation step up to the plate each year to support those students. Last year, about 3,000 Baylor supporters donated a total of around $4 million to the Bear Foundation, with every penny of that going to scholarships to Baylor’s student-athletes, who in turn give of themselves on the field or court on behalf of our university.

    Combined with the Bear Foundation’s other sources of income, the BBF was able to offset about two-thirds of the costs for all those scholarships — money that otherwise would have been drawn from the general budget. In other words, those donations helped not only the student-athletes, but other students at Baylor, freeing up money that could then be used in other ways — improved equipment in classrooms, hiring new professors, etc.

    Interested in joining those 3,000 fellow Bears who have already stepped forward? Visit BaylorBearFoundation.com or call 254-710-2582.

    Sic ’em, Bear Foundation members!