Last summer, when it looked like the Big 12 Conference was about to fall apart and Baylor would be left scrambling for a new league, pundits across the nation said BU didn’t belong in a major conference. One year later, their songs have changed, thanks to Añodeloso — the Year of the Bear.
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Let’s put some numbers on the Year of the Bear… When you add up the 2011-12 records for Baylor football (10-3), men’s basketball (30-8) and women’s basketball (40-0), you get a combined mark of 80-11. Those 80 total wins are a new NCAA D-1 record; here are the top five:
Year School FB MBB WBB Total wins Combined record 2011-12 BAYLOR 10 30 40 80 80-11 (.879) 2008-09 UConn 8 31 39 78 78-10 (.886) 2007-08 Tennessee 10 31 36 77 77-11 (.875) 2010-11 UConn 8 32 36 76 76-16 (.826) 2006-07 Ohio St. 12 35 28 75 75-9 (.893)
But let’s take it even further. Baylor baseball’s win Friday over Kansas State improved the Big 12 champion Bears’ record to 44-13. Combine that mark with football and hoops for a “Big Four” total, and you get a record of 124-24 — setting a NCAA D-1 record for combined wins across those four sports.
Year School FB MBB WBB BB Total wins Combined record 2011-12 BAYLOR 10 30 40 44 124 124-24 (.838) 2003-04 Texas 10 25 30 58 123 123-31 (.799) 1984-85 Oklahoma 9 31 23 55 118 118-29 (.803) 2008-09 Oklahoma 12 30 32 43 117 117-33 (.780) 2002-03 Texas 11 26 29 50 116 116-35 (.768)
With baseball ranked No. 6 in the country and only just entering the postseason, Baylor should be able to tack a few more victories onto that total before all is said and done. Add on Robert Griffin III’s Heisman and Brittney Griner’s consensus national player of the year honors — a combination only recorded one other time in the last 50-plus years — and this has truly been a year to remember.
[Read more about the Year of the Bear at BaylorBears.com.]
Baylor is expected to be named one of 16 host sites when NCAA baseball regional locations are announced Sunday (and tickets are available now); the full 64-team bracket will be revealed Monday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU.
Sic ’em, Baylor athletics!
