Editor’s Note: For now over 75 years, The Baylor Line has been publishing vivid storytelling from across the Baylor Family. I don’t think our archives full of deep, inspirational features should live solely on shelves, so we are bringing them back to life in BL Classics. This September–October 1972 Classic demonstrates the progress of the Bears’ new AstroTurf.
Jack Patterson, Baylor Athletic Director, is looking at the total athletic program when he says, “Baylor has a tremendous potential. In the past we have overlooked some of the school’s strong areas when we have approached outstanding athletes,” he says. “We do not have unlimited state funds or a course of study for every career, so we must sell areas that can provide an exceptional education. Baylor does have a oneness of spirit that can be achieved by only by a school with the personal touch that is provided by a Christian university with a planned limited enrollment, which controls the student-teacher ratio.”
Early this year Baylor alumni began to offer their support to the idea of modernizing the athletic program to make it fully competitive. For at least five years artificial grass has been standard equipment for most other Southwest Conference schools. No one can calculate the exact effect the lack of artificial grass has on many a “blue chip” athlete, but some observers feel that Baylor may have lost several prospects for this reason. One athlete put AstroTurf in the same category as a helmet. He said he would not like to go into a game without either.
Now that “Thee University” has made a firm commitment to a first-class athletic program, the largest variable is time. The Astroturf is complete. The Letterman’s Lounge will be ready for the first home game. The box seating area of the stadium has been modernized with chair-back seats, and the west side forty to forty-yard line seats will be replaced this year. The remaining sections will be repaired as funds become available.
Head football coach Grant Teaff, says that there is no way to put the upgrading of the athletic program on a timetable. He does not predict a winning season for ’72 or ’73. Teaff avoids promising that Baylor will win a single game this fall, but he does say that the Fighting Baylor Bears will be a team with pride and enthusiasm. Teaff does promise that Bearbackers can be proud of this team — win or lose.
Response has been encouraging from Baylor supporters as pledges for one yard of Astroturf at a cost of $35 and three yards at $100 have come in steadily. The total cost of $400,000 for the artificial grass is expected to be underwritten from these pledges within four years. With facilities improved, emphasis can be shifted to other areas — such as scholarships, summer jobs and recruiting support — that comprise an equal part of the commitment to a first-class program.
The time necessary to produce a winning team is unpredictable, but Patterson and Teaff do feel that within three years we can attract the talent to begin a new era of Baylor football. After a few wins, Teaff expects a new enthusiasm from Baylor exes that will help make the athletic program totally competitive.
