The Facts "Bear" It Out

As a follow up to the video on the previous post, the following was first published by The Baylor Proud Team in Athletics, Baylor 2012.  If by chance you find all this bragging about my alma mater somewhat insufferable, keep in mind two things:

1) I'm not used to Baylor being this successful in the major sports, so cut me some slack; and 

2) It's my blog. 

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.

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 80-10. 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.