• Baylor football, basketball, baseball set NCAA record for combined wins

    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!