Weekend brings two more Big 12 titles back to Baylor

On Saturday, Baylor athletic programs brought home two Big 12 championships — one that Bears have perhaps come to expect, and one that was completely new.

First came the Lady Bear basketball team, which won its seventh straight Big 12 regular season title. To put that in perspective, only two Big 12 teams — in any sport — have ever won more consecutive regular season championships: Kansas men’s basketball (13 straight) and Baylor men’s tennis (8). Another way of looking at it: This will be the fourth straight Lady Bear senior class to leave Baylor having known nothing but conference championships. And lastly, consider this: the team’s current freshmen were in sixth grade the last time the Lady Bears didn’t win the Big 12.

Later in the day, the Baylor women’s track and field team brought home another trophy, winning the Big 12 Indoor Championships — Baylor track’s first Big 12 team conference title, and the first-ever conference title for the women’s program. Head coach Todd Harbour’s squad won five individual events — pole vault, shot put, 600-yard run, 3,000-meters, and 4×400-meter relay — and added four runner-up finishes to claim the top spot. In all, the team’s 19 student-athletes recorded 28 All-Big 12 performances over two days of action.

It’s also worth noting that two Baylor coaches recorded milestone career victories over the past week. Last Wednesday, Baylor softball head coach Glenn Moore won his 800th career game, improving to 800-350 in his 20th season as a collegiate head coach (including a 654-308 mark in his 17 seasons at Baylor). Then on Saturday, the Lady Bears’ Big 12 title clincher was also head coach Kim Mulkey’s 500th career win; at 500-94, Mulkey is the second-fastest Division I coach all-time to reach the 500 wins mark.

Sic ’em, Baylor athletics!