Baylor University: When Sexual Assault Hits Close to Home

Today, my heart hurts. I ache for the sexual assault victims and how my beloved university has failed them countless times. I have been hesitant to comment until we knew the results of the Pepper Hamilton report, and I was sick to my stomach reading the results of the investigation.

I especially hurt for those fans who call Baylor the “scapegoat” and say this problem has occurred many times at big name programs without the head coach and president taking the fall. That’s not the point. We shouldn’t point fingers at other schools when our school failed women. Baylor chose football over sexual assault victims.

I will never stop loving Baylor. It’s where I met the love of my life and pursued my passions. At Baylor, I grew and was constantly challenged in my faith. My love for the school is unconditional. Some of my favorite memories are associated with Baylor football. I will never forget Baylor Homecoming 2010 when, after an insane rainstorm, we stormed the field after Baylor became bowl-eligible for the first time since 1995. I have always admired Coach Art Briles and how he overcame tragedy to become a successful football coach.

Although my heart bleeds green and gold, I will never make excuses for the awful decisions made by the university and football team. After failing so many times, the first step in the right direction is to fire Coach Art Briles and demote Judge Ken Starr. Now is the time for humility and forgiveness. We can’t change what happened, but we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Our Day at Baylor College GameDay and Baylor vs. Kansas State

There is nothing better than going home. Chris and I met and fell in love at Baylor, and we have been watching Baylor football together since before we started dating. Since Chris has had a crazy medical schedule for the last few years, we haven’t been back on campus for three years (we did see the Baylor vs. Texas Tech game at Cowboys Stadium last year). With ESPN College GameDay on campus, seeing the new stadium, and watching our Baylor Bears win a back-to-back Big 12 Championship, Saturday was such a great day.
We started off the day by waking up in the wee hours of the morning to make it to Waco for College GameDay. Chris had an interview on Friday, and his flight home was delayed so we didn’t go to bed till 1 a.m. Waking up early the next day wasn’t fun, but it was worth it. Here’s the thing—when Chris and I were freshmen at Baylor, we were bad at football. Like, really bad. Like, we didn’t win a game in the Big 12 bad. We went to every game that year, and every game we could when we were in college. It is so incredible watching our program turn around like it has. We had so much fun reading the signs and watching the analysts. Lee Corso didn’t pick us to win (haters gonna hate, hate, hate), but everyone else did.

After College GameDay was over, we hiked over to campus. It took forever because ESPN had blocked off all of the direct routes. I did get a lot of extra FitBit steps in, though! We stopped by the bookstore to see some former coworkers and to buy some new Baylor gear (Chris worked at the bookstore for two years, and I did some temporary work during several school breaks). Then, we had to head over to Common Grounds, a coffee shop on campus and one of our favorite places to hang out, to grab an Arnold Palmer (me) and a Caramel Coffee Crunch (Chris).

We couldn’t go to campus without hanging out on one of the swings (we used to walk around campus to get to know each other, and we often ended up on a swing). We finished off our visiting by seeing the new buildings on campus—East Village and the new business school. We’re so excited that so many great things are happening at Baylor!

Chris and I headed to McLane Stadium early to participate in the Bear Walk, where the football players and coaches walk along a path to the stadium, and you can cheer them on and give them high-fives. It was so much fun! The brick we purchased with our names on it is also on the Bear Walk so we were glad we were able to finally see it. We entered the stadium as soon as the doors opened so we could explore. McLane Stadium is just as beautiful as we had been told. We can’t wait to go to many more games there.

 The game itself was really good. We had a blast cheering with a group of Baylor fans. We won and became back-to-back Big 12 Champions! Even though it was 11 p.m. by that point and we had a long day, we had to stay for the trophy presentation. Sadly, Baylor ended up ranked No. 5 in the country (one spot out of the four-team playoff), but it was still an amazing season.

Linking up with Biana for Weekending.

Five Reasons College Football Season Is My Favorite Time of the Year

It’s no secret—I love sports.  College football is my favorite, and I have been counting down the days till Saturday since January. I can’t wait to spend my Saturdays at the stadium or screaming at the TV with family and friends. Here’s why football season is my favorite time of the year:

Team spirit: 
There’s nothing better than cheering for my team. It is also quality family time—I have taken my dad and brother to games, and Chris and I love going to games together. If I can’t make it to a game, it is also fun to go to alumni watch parties. It’s a great way to make friends because we enjoy cheering for the same team.
The food:  Whether it’s tailgating barbecue or pizza in front of a TV, food just tastes better when watching college football.
The atmosphere is amazing:  College football is exciting. I’m a huge fan of explosive offenses and big plays. Though I also watch the NFL, I prefer college football because I feel like the players have something to prove to make it to the NFL. Plus, there’s nothing better than being part of a crowd, screaming and cheering with 60,000 other fans.

I have an excuse to spend my Saturday in front of the TV: 
I love going out and spending time with friends, but sometimes I just want to relax and spend my day in front of the TV. College football is the perfect excuse. If we can’t make it to the stadium, I also love to invite friends and family to watch the game with me.


This stadium:

Photo by Sean Doerre

I am not exaggerating when I say that Baylor has built one of the most beautiful stadiums in the country, and it opens on Sunday. I am absolutely giddy just thinking about it. I am still trying to figure out how I can make my way over there, which will be tough with my husband’s schedule. If I make to McLane Stadium this year, it will definitely be one of the best college football seasons ever.

I leave you with one last thing: Sic 'Em Bears!

Linking up with Lauren, Amanda, Karli, and Amy.