700+ Baylor students headed west for Holiday Bowl

When Baylor football takes the field at Qualcomm Stadium on Dec. 27 for the Holiday Bowl, they will be greeted by an impressive turnout of Baylor students.

More than 700 students — about 5% of the student body — purchased tickets through the university (in addition to those who bought tickets elsewhere) for a bowl game to be played some 1,400 miles from campus.

Almost 300 students — six buses worth — are taking advantage of a Baylor travel package in which they will board buses (like those pictured above) in Waco the morning of Dec. 26 for a 21-hour ride to San Diego.

They are scheduled to arrive in time for the Port of San Diego Big Bay Balloon Parade on Dec. 27, in which some students will join the Golden Wave Band, the Spirit Squads, President Ken Starr and the Baylor Bear balloon. Word is that this will be the first university balloon in the parade’s 22-year history. (FYI, the parade will be nationally televised on USA Network the following day, Dec. 28, at 8 a.m. ET/PT, so set your DVRs.)

After the parade, students will then attend the game that evening, spend the night in San Diego, and leave for Waco the next afternoon. Special thanks to lead donors Kirk and Carol Townsend and supporting donors Ken and Alice Starr and Ken and Celia Carlile for helping offset the costs of the trip to make it more affordable to our students.

Sic ’em, Bears!

[If you want to follow along during the students’ travels next week (or if you’re tweeting/Instagramming about Baylor and the Holiday Bowl), search/use the “#sicUCLA” hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.]