Bears leave Beijing with three more Olympic medals
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Alumni, Athletics, Honors
With the 2008 Summer Olympics wrapped up in Beijing, Baylor Bears are coming home with gold for the fourth straight Olympics.
Jeremy Wariner won silver in the 400 meters, then ran the anchor leg in the 4×400-meter relay as the U.S. claimed gold yet again in that event. (Click on any of these links for results, photos and video highlights.) Reggie Witherspoon also earned a gold for the relay, as he ran the third leg in prelims. Darold Williamson served as a relay alternate this year after winning a gold in 2004, but did not compete in Beijing.
Wariner now has three career gold medals, one shy of Baylor and Olympic legend Michael Johnson’s four golds. (Johnson originally earned five golds, though he recently returned a relay gold after the other three members of his team admitted to using performance enhancing drugs.)
Baylor track coach Clyde Hart also saw another prodigy come home with a pair of medals. Hart trains former Texas Longhorn Sanya Richards in Waco; Richards won bronze in the 400 meters and a gold in the 4×400-meter relay.
Sic ’em, Baylor Olympians!
Interim President David Garland an ‘inspired and inspiring choice’
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Academics, Honors
I was all set to write a lengthy post about what a great choice Dr. David Garland was for Baylor’s interim presidency when I saw that The Baptist Standard beat me to it with this excellent column.
If you’re looking for even more about what sort of things Dr. Garland has been doing as dean of Truett Seminary, you don’t have to look far. For instance, we just wrote last month about how Dr. Garland and his wife, School of Social Work dean Dr. Diana Garland, have done an excellent job bringing together the theoretical and practical sides of ministry. The initial reaction to his hiring as interim president has been exceedingly positive — which comes as no surprise after reading not only what he’s done, but what kind of man he is.
Sic ’em, Dr. Garland!
Baylor professor named Texas Choirmaster
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Academics, Honors
Keeping with our music theme… Shortly after posting yesterday’s blog entry, I received notice of yet another honor, this time for a Baylor professor. Dr. Donald Bailey, recently retired director of choral activities, received the Texas Choirmaster award from the Texas Choral Directors Association — the most prestigious honor given by the group.
The award is such a rare honor that in its 53-year history, the association has only given it to 10 people. Most impressively, three of those 10 are former Baylor choir directors: Bailey, Euell Porter and Hugh Sanders. In fact, prior to Bailey’s retirement, those three were the only three Directors of Choral Activities in Baylor’s history; Porter led from 1955-1982, followed by Sanders from 1984-1993 and Bailey from 1993-2008. (Dr. Loyd Hawthorne, former dean of the School of Music at Hardin-Simmons, now serves in the role.)
Sic ’em, Dr. Bailey and Baylor choirs!
Alumna a finalist for Next Great American Country Star
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Alumni, Honors
Baylor alumna Megan Conner is one of six finalists to become The Next GAC Star, as she competes on the American Idol-like show airing on the Great American Country (GAC) cable network.
If the name sounds familiar, you might have seen her on stage at Baylor. A performance major, Conner starred in several musicals and other plays while a student, and she initially moved to New York City looking to continue her performing career. After a detour into fitness training, Conner was discovered there by Paul Vance (the writer of such songs as “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” and “Catch a Falling Star”), who encouraged her to give country music a try.
The finals of The Next GAC Star are slated to air on GAC Sept. 3 and 10 at 8 p.m. CT; mark your calendars now! In the meantime, check out audio and video clips of Conner’s work on her MySpace and MusicNation web sites.
Sic ’em, Megan!
‘Father of contemporary Christian music’ an honored BU alum
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Alumni, Honors
Baylor alum Billy Ray Hearn is recognized by many as the father of contemporary Christian music, and a quick glance at his resume shows why.
In 1972, Hearn started Myrrh Records, one of the first labels dedicated to contemporary Christian music, at Word Inc. in Waco. Four years later, he formed his own label, Sparrow Records. He sold Sparrow to EMI in 1992 and semi-retired four years later but continued to stay involved with the world of Christian music.
Over the years, his labels have included artists ranging from Keith Green and 2nd Chapter of Acts to Steven Curtis Chapman and BeBe and CeCe Winans. Hearn even executive produced Andy Griffith’s Grammy-winning album “I Love to Tell the Story.”
A 1954 church music graduate, Hearn served on Baylor’s Board of Regents for nine years and was honored by the Baylor Alumni Association as a distinguished alumnus in 1995. Earlier this month, he was honored with the 2008 Award for Exemplary Leadership in Church Music, given by Baylor’s Center for Christian Music Studies.
Sic ’em, Billy Ray Hearn!
Happy Birthday, Baylor AFROTC!
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Academics, Student life, Honors
Baylor’s branch of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) celebrates its 60th birthday today as one of the oldest and best programs in the nation.
Detachment 810 was formed at Baylor in 1948, just 10 months after the creation of the Air Force as a separate military branch. And it’s only gotten better with age; Baylor’s bunch was recently named the No. 1 large detachment in the Southwest Region for the second time in five years, beating out 34 other detachments. Baylor will now compete against the top detachments from the nation’s other three regions for the right to be called the top large AFROTC detachment in the country.
Sic ’em, BU AFROTC!
Baylor pitcher anchors USA National Team pitching staff in perfect summer
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Athletics, Honors
Junior Kendal Volz carried on a proud Baylor tradition, representing the United States in style as a member of this summer’s USA Baseball National Team that won two championships and finished the summer a perfect 24-0.
A starting pitcher for Baylor, Volz served as Team USA’s closer, racking up eight saves in eight opportunities and finishing with a perfect 0.00 ERA in 14 innings pitched. Besides the U.S., the top competitors in international baseball are Japan and Cuba; Volz closed out wins over each of those teams twice, including a pair of tournament championship games. The Cuba team even ran out its Olympic team roster against the U.S., and Volz held them to just one hit in 2.1 innings, striking out three. Even amidst all that, Volz still found time to keep a blog on BaylorBears.com and do an Internet chat with Baseball America.
Volz is the latest in a line of Bears to have played on the U.S. National Team, dating back 20 years to Pat Combs in the 1988 Olympics. More recently, Baylor legends such as Jason Jennings, Zane Carlson, and coach Steve Smith to have represented Baylor on the world baseball scene. The Bears have even gotten into the action behind the scenes, with Baylor athletic media relations staffer Larry Little serving a second tour of duty as the National Team’s press officer this summer.
Volz’s National Team teammates won’t be representing the U.S. at this summer’s Olympics; USA Baseball has elected to instead send a squad of primarily minor leaguers to Beijing, as they have for the past several Olympics. But I think the record compiled by this team of collegiate players speaks for itself as to their abilities.
Sic ’em, Kendal and USA Baseball!
Baylor Lariat named best student paper in Texas
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Academics, Student life, Honors
As a student, I spent one semester writing for The Baylor Lariat. I certainly didn’t write anything worthy of an award — but this year’s Lariat students did, and they’ve been rewarded for it.
The Lariat was named the best student newspaper in Texas by the Houston Press Club and was ranked second in the state by the Associated Press Managing Editors Association of Texas. Lariat writers Claire St. Amant and Melissa Limmer were also national finalists in the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2007 Mark of Excellence Awards, placing in the top three in the country for “Breaking News Reporting.”
Sic ’em, Lariat staffers!
Triple-A All-Star one of 22 Bears in pro baseball
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Alumni, Athletics, Honors
Former Baylor all-Big 12 infielder Mark Saccomanno drove in the winning run in Wednesday night’s Triple-A All-Star Game (video available here), capping off a big first half for the former letterwinner. Through July 20, Saccomanno was hitting .294 and ranked among the league’s top 10 with 27 doubles (tied for ninth), 22 home runs (third) and 68 RBI (seventh).
Saccomanno is one of 22 former Baylor baseball players active in professional baseball. (Click on any player’s name to see his stats and more.) He is joined by Michael Griffin (Reds) and Steven White (Yankees) at the AAA level, one step away from the big leagues. Former first-round pick Mark McCormick (Cardinals) leads a host of Bears at AA that also includes Kyle Reynolds (Cubs), Kevin Russo (Yankees), Drew Sutton (Astros), Cory VanAllen (Nationals), Sean Walker (Astros) and Abe Woody (Diamondbacks).
Four more Baylor alums are active in A-ball: Zach Dillon (Orioles), Seth Fortenberry (Yankees), Jeff Mandel (Nationals) and Tim Matthews (Rockies). Last but not least, four Bears drafted just last month are playing at lower levels: Nick Cassavechia (Tigers), Randall Linebaugh (Reds), Mace Thurman (Reds), and just-signed Beamer Weems (Padres).
Of course, there are also the four Bears in the Major Leagues right now — American League Rookie of the Year candidate David Murphy (Rangers), catcher Kelly Shoppach (Indians), and veteran pitchers Jason Jennings (Rangers) and Kip Wells (Rockies).
Sic ’em, baseball Bears!
Another former Baylor coach to enter Hall of Fame
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Athletics, Honors
Women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey gets a lot of credit for turning around the program, and it’s certainly well-deserved. After all, she’s taken the Lady Bears to the NCAA Tournament seven times in eight seasons, including the 2005 squad that won the second national championship in Baylor athletics’ history.
But we shouldn’t forget that it was Sonja Hogg — Mulkey’s coach during her playing days at Louisiana Tech — who began Baylor’s rise. For her work with the Lady Techsters and later at Baylor, Hogg was announced Sunday live on ABC as a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame’s class of 2009.
Hogg led Louisiana Tech for 12 seasons, winning the last AIAW national championship in 1981 and the first NCAA women’s basketball national title a year later. After spending several years in athletic administration, she returned to coaching in 1994 when she took the job at Baylor. Her 1998 squad lost in the finals of the WNIT championship, and the team’s success that year drew over 3,600 fans per game — more than double the program’s previous record.
When Hogg retired in 2000, her presence at Baylor and what she had done for the program were important factors in drawing Mulkey from Louisiana Tech to Waco, and the rest, as they say, is history. After stepping down as coach, Hogg moved over to Baylor’s development office where she works as a fundraiser for Baylor.
Hogg joins five six other Baylor-related coaches who are in their sports’ halls of fame. Grant Teaff and Morley Jennings were each inducted for their work at Baylor, while Hayden Fry and Jody Conradt each played at Baylor but coached elsewhere. Mulkey was honored as a player just as she was beginning her career as a head coach. [Edit: Also, Leon Barmore, who joined Mulkey’s staff as an assistant in May after 20 years at Louisiana Tech.]
Sic ’em, Sonja!
