Bear Habitat Gets a Facelift
The Eva and Bill Williams Bear Habitat is undergoing several exterior, non-habitat changes, including a seating area and a new way to honor past bears, according to The Lariat. A new education pavilion on the east side of the habitat facing the Bill Daniel Student center will include a screen system, allowing space to highlight the history of the exhibit and giving passersby a better idea of when the bears are in their campus habitat. Construction during this third phase of renovations to the bear habitat broke ground last month and will hopefully finish in the spring.
Baylor Football Visits Childhood Cancer Patients
Football fans will notice something a little bit more colorful about the Bears’ helmets during today’s game. According to a Baylor Proud article, the logo featured on the helmet was designed by ILaria Ramirez, a six-year-old from Cameron who was diagnosed with leukemia last year. Earlier this year, ILaria and other pediatric patients at McLane Children’s Medical Center in Temple spent time with Baylor football athletes, coloring their own versions of the Baylor Bear logo.
ILaria named her artwork the “Helmet of Hope,” incorporating words like “faith,” victory,” and “strength” into the design. Last month, she was invited to a football practice, where she met more of the team who got to see her special artwork come to life. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness and the official color is gold. Coincidentally, the theme of today’s game is “Gold Rush”. The Bears kickoff against Louisiana Tech at 3 p.m. at McLane Stadium.
Baylor Basketball Announces “Future Bears” Games
Registration is open for students to join each the men’s and women’s basketball teams for Future Bears Day. Presented by McLane Children’s Future Bears Day invites schools to register K-8th-grade classes to attend either game, Baylor Athletics reports.
The men’s basketball team tips off against Jackson State at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 18, followed by the women’s basketball team facing Texas Southern on at 11 a.m. Wednesday, December 9. Both home games are played at the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion.
Common Grounds Seeks New Owner
The Baylor-beloved coffee shop Common Grounds is searching for new ownership, Chron reports. A fan-favorite for Baylor students and the local community since 1994, Waco natives and Baylor alumni Blake and Kimberly Batson — owners since 2012 — recently opened an online application for prospective buyers. The timeline of the transition is unknown, but the Batsons have said they are hoping is will be completed in six months to a year.
Family Weekend Festivities Features New Addition
Baylor’s annual Family Weekend kicked off Friday September 18 with a brand new event: the Coffee Crawl, featuring morning-only discounts and limited-edition mugs at a variety of local cafés in downtown Waco. To conclude Family Weekend day one, country music band Old Dominion performed at Foster Pavilion.
Today, Baylor will host a Family Weekend Tailgate starting at noon near Touchdown Alley. Families can pick up a free growl towel and enjoy the Backyard Gameday Concert.
Battle of the ‘BU’
Baylor reached a partial settlement with Boston University trustees in its ongoing trademark dispute. According to Bloomberg Law, the dispute began in August 2025 when Baylor filed a lawsuit against Boston University, claiming that the design of its BU violated the trademark and previous agreement between the two parties. Boston used the interlocking BU in campus merchandise.
Both universities are working to finalize a written agreement this week. Baylor anticipates plans to notify the court of the settlement or provide a status update on September 23, as reported by Bloomberg Law.
