Baylor Bears

Big 12Waco, TXMcLane Stadium

2026: 4–⁠2 (2–⁠1 Big 12). Last: lost to TCU 17–⁠6 at home. Next: at Kansas, Saturday, Oct 24.

  1. L 16–⁠17vs. Auburn
  2. W 44–⁠3Prairie View A&M
  3. W 36–⁠19Louisiana Tech
  4. W 23–⁠13Colorado
  5. W 55–⁠19at Arizona State
  6. L 6–⁠17TCU
  7. Oct 24at Kansas
  8. Oct 30at UCF
  9. Nov 7Iowa State
  10. Nov 14at BYU
  11. Nov 21Texas Tech
  12. Nov 28at Houston
  • Outfitted by Nike

Baylor has played football since 1899 and is 635–⁠607–⁠41 in the 1,283 games on record here, which start in 1903. Their best finish in the final AP poll is No. 5, in 2021. They have won seven Southwest Conference titles (the last in 1994) and three Big 12 Conference titles, counting shared titles. Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy here in 2011. Since 1939, the NFL Draft has taken 143 players from here in its first seven rounds, 20 of them in the first round. The AAFC and AFL drafts also took five players from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 7 players and 2 coaches from Baylor. Grant Teaff (1972–⁠1992) won more games here than any other coach: 128. The most-played rival is TCU: 121 meetings, TCU leads 60–⁠54–⁠7. This season, under Dave Aranda, they’re 4–⁠2.

Résumé

All-time record
632–⁠609–⁠44 official; 635–⁠607–⁠41 on file; how we count
Postseason
14–⁠14 matches the official bowl record
AP No. 1 finishes
0
Weeks at No. 1
0 of 210 ranked
Elo now
1551 56th of 138 FBS
Computer rankings
Massey No. 41 · Composite No. 31 in FBS, Oct 17; down 6 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
Best season by Elo
2014 rated 1768
Conference titles
10 last in 2021
Seasons
121 since 1903, 1,283 games

Identity

Fight song
Old Fight
Student section
Baylor Line
Apparel
Nike
Band
Golden Wave Band since 1902, 300 members

2026 season 4–⁠2

RosterFull 2026 season
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsAuburnL 16–⁠1747%
Sep 12vsPrairie View A&MW 44–⁠374%
Sep 19vsLouisiana TechW 36–⁠1960%
Sep 26vsColoradoW 23–⁠1368%
Oct 3atArizona StateW 55–⁠1939%
Oct 17vsTCUL 6–⁠1762%
Oct 24atKansasPreview55%
Oct 30atUCFPreview54%
Nov 7vsIowa StatePreview57%
Nov 14atBYUPreview21%
Nov 21vsTexas TechPreview34%
Nov 28atHoustonPreview31%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

This season, game by game

Baylor’s Elo through 2026: 1489 going into the opener, 1551 after the latest game.147515001525155015751600Elo 1489 going in; lost to Auburn 17–16Elo 1482 going in; beat Prairie View A&M 44–3Elo 1500 going in; beat Louisiana Tech 36–19Elo 1523 going in; beat Colorado 23–13Elo 1537 going in; beat Arizona State 55–19Elo 1583 going in; lost to TCU 17–6Now: Elo 1551 after the latest game1551
Elo going into each game, then after the latest. Filled dots: wins; open: losses. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team.

Future schedule

2027–⁠30
20273 games: 1 home, 2 away, non-conference only
20282 games: 2 home, non-conference only
20291 game: 1 away, non-conference only
20301 game: 1 neutral, non-conference only

Baylor’s announced games beyond the seasons on our schedule, as its Wikipedia article lists them (announced schedules as of May 29, 2026). Schedules change; a season shows only the games named so far, and many articles list non-conference games only. Future schedules: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

On the 2026 team

Program greats See all

Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Baylor.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Around the program

Apparel
Nike · Official source
Mascot
Bruiser and Marigold · Sources disagree 1 source give Bruiser and Marigold; others give Bruiser & Marigold (1 source). Chosen by count of sources, then the newest, for this season; needs a reviewer.
Student section
Baylor Line · Official source
Offensive coordinator
Jake Spavital · Official source
Defensive coordinator
Joe Klanderman · Official source

Found by several AI researchers searching the web, then kept only where the page loads and says so in words naming the program; every quote is checked again each time the data is rebuilt. Official source: the school’s own page. All of them.

The apparel deal

Nike. Nike outfits all 19 Baylor sports. The term hasn't been published.

  • Baylor University, May 29, 2019: Nike partnership equips all 19 sport programs; no term published
  • Sole Retriever, Sep 19, 2025: Calls Baylor a Nike-sponsored school; no term published

Apparel deals: Field Drip. Terms as the outlets reported them; checked Oct 3, 2026.

Program strength since 1903

Best seasons ever
Baylor end-of-season Elo from 1903 to 2026, best in 2014 at 1768.13001500170019001920194019601980200020202014 peak: Elo 1768
End-of-season Elo. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team.

More coverage

Found through the GDELT Project, which indexes news sites worldwide. Each link opens the story on the outlet’s own site; each picture is that outlet’s own preview of its story, shown from its site and credited to it.

Podcasts

Found through Podcast Index, the open podcast directory. Each link opens the episode’s page.

Head coaches

CoachYearsRecord
Dave Aranda2020–⁠202640–⁠39
Matt Rhule2017–⁠201919–⁠20
Jim Grobe20167–⁠6
Art Briles2008–⁠201565–⁠37
Guy Morriss2003–⁠200718–⁠40
Kevin Steele1999–⁠20029–⁠36
Dave Roberts1997–⁠19984–⁠18
Chuck Reedy1993–⁠199623–⁠22
Grant Teaff1972–⁠1992128–⁠105–⁠6
Bill Beall1969–⁠19713–⁠28
John Bridgers1959–⁠196849–⁠53–⁠1
Sam Boyd1956–⁠195815–⁠15–⁠1
George Sauer1950–⁠195538–⁠21–⁠3
Bob Woodruff1947–⁠194919–⁠10–⁠2
Frank Kimbrough1941–⁠194615–⁠23–⁠3
Morley Jennings1926–⁠194083–⁠60–⁠6
Frank Bridges1920–⁠192535–⁠18–⁠6
Bubs Mosley1914–⁠191930–⁠18–⁠4
Norman Payne19134–⁠4–⁠2
Ralph Glaze1910–⁠191212–⁠9–⁠4
Enoch Mills1908–⁠19098–⁠8
Luther Burleson19074–⁠3–⁠1
Archie Webb19051–⁠6
Sol Metzger19042–⁠5–⁠1
R.N. Watts19034–⁠3–⁠1

Most-played series

All rivalries
OpponentGamesBAY record
TCU12154–⁠60–⁠7 ‡
Texas11328–⁠81–⁠4 ‡
Texas A&M10831–⁠68–⁠9 ‡
Texas Tech8342–⁠40–⁠1
SMU8340–⁠36–⁠7
Rice8250–⁠30–⁠2
Arkansas7033–⁠35–⁠2
Oklahoma State4421–⁠23

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.

Every opponent (129)

Every program Baylor has played, A to Z, with Baylor’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.

Conference titles

10, counting shared titles
Big 12 Conference 3
2013, 2014 (shared), 2021
Southwest Conference 7
1915 (shared), 1916 (shared), 1922, 1924, 1974, 1980, 1994 (shared)

As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.

Conferences

  1. Independent 1899–⁠1914
  2. Southwest Conference 1915–⁠1942 and 1945–⁠1995
  3. Big 12 since 1996
  • 1996Joined the Big 12 from the Southwest Conference. Source

Baylor’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

National award winners

All awards
2015Corey Coleman WRBiletnikoff
2011Robert Griffin III QBHeisman, Davey O’Brien, Manning
2006Daniel Sepulveda PRay Guy
2004Daniel Sepulveda PRay Guy
1986Thomas Everett SThorpe
1974Grant Teaff coachEddie Robinson

Consensus All-Americans 18

2021Jalen Pitre DB
2019James Lynch DL
2015Corey Coleman WR
2015Spencer Drango OL
2014Spencer Drango OL
2013Cyril Richardson OL
2012Terrance Williams WR
2011Robert Griffin III QB
2006Daniel Sepulveda P
1991Santana Dotson L
1986Thomas Everett S
1980Mike Singletary LB
1979Mike Singletary LB
1976Gary Green DB
1964Larry Elkins WR
1963Larry Elkins WR
1956Bill Glass OG
1930Barton Koch OG

Led the nation 11

2025Kole Wilson kickoff return yards (705 yds)
2024Josh Cameron punt return average (20.7)
2015Corey Coleman receiving touchdowns (20 TD)
2012Nick Florence passing yards (4,309 yds)
2012Terrance Williams receiving yards (1,832 yds)
1991Melvin Bonner yards per catch (24.6)
1963Don Trull passing yards (2,157 yds)
1963Larry Elkins receptions (70 catches), receiving yards (873 yds)
1948George Sims punt return average (25.0)
1938Sam Boyd receptions (32 catches), receiving yards (537 yds)
1937Billy Patterson passing yards (1,109 yds)

The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.

Heisman runners-up and finalists

The votes
1963Don Trull QB4th

Second to fifth in the vote, from each season’s Wikipedia article.

In the Hall of Fame

Every inductee
Players
7
Coaches
2
2013Don Trull QB
2006Thomas Everett S
2001Grant Teaff coach here, 1972–⁠1992
1995Mike Singletary LB
1994Larry Elkins WR
1987Jim Ray Smith OT
1985Bill Glass OG
1974Barton Koch OG
1973Morley Jennings coach here, 1926–⁠1940

In the draft

By college
NFL picks, rounds 1–⁠7
143 since 1939
First-round picks
20
AAFC and AFL picks
5 1949, 1961–⁠62, 1964
2016Corey Coleman WRNo. 15, Cleveland Browns
2012Robert Griffin III QBNo. 2, Washington Redskins
2012Kendall Wright WRNo. 20, Tennessee Titans
2011Phil Taylor DTNo. 21, Cleveland Browns
2011Danny Watkins OGNo. 23, Philadelphia Eagles
2009Jason Smith OTNo. 2, St. Louis Rams
1996Daryl Gardener DTNo. 20, Miami Dolphins
1990James Francis LBNo. 12, Cincinnati Bengals

Who came and went in the 2026 transfer portal, and every portal year.

The school

Baylor University
Enrollment
20,626 14,915 undergraduates, fall 2024
Where
Waco, Texas
Public or private
Private nonprofit; Research 1
Founded
1845
Graduates’ median earnings
$65,793 10 years after starting

Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.

Official accounts

Football
X @BUFootballInstagram @BUFootballFacebook BUFootball
Athletics department
X @BaylorAthleticsInstagram @BaylorAthleticsYouTube BaylorAthleticsFacebook BaylorAthletics

Official accounts: the schools’ athletics websites: the ones baylorbears.com lists for its football program and athletics department, as of Oct 12, 2026.

On the newsreel

Universal Newsreel, National Archives (catalog record). Story titles and words as Universal’s release sheet gives them; the films themselves may still be under copyright, so we link to the record rather than show them.

Books

Books: Open Library (CC0), filed under the program’s Library of Congress subject heading; most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.

Season by season

National champions
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20264–⁠22–⁠1Dave Aranda155112.7
20255–⁠73–⁠6Dave Aranda14831.4
20248–⁠56–⁠4Dave Aranda15948.4
20233–⁠92–⁠7Dave Aranda1412-8.3
20226–⁠74–⁠510Dave Aranda157711.7
202112–⁠27–⁠25Dave Aranda170815.6
20202–⁠72–⁠7Dave Aranda14701.3
201911–⁠38–⁠113Matt Rhule164517.8
20187–⁠64–⁠5Matt Rhule14942.0
20171–⁠111–⁠8Matt Rhule1380-1.4
20167–⁠63–⁠623Jim Grobe156711.3
201510–⁠36–⁠3413Art Briles172619.5
201411–⁠28–⁠1107Art Briles176823.9
201311–⁠28–⁠113Art Briles173020.4
20128–⁠54–⁠5Art Briles167211.0
201110–⁠36–⁠313Art Briles164610.9
20107–⁠64–⁠4Art Briles14864.6
20094–⁠81–⁠7Art Briles1416-3.6
20084–⁠82–⁠6Art Briles14344.0
20073–⁠90–⁠8Guy Morriss1342-13.6
20064–⁠83–⁠5Guy Morriss1400-3.6
20055–⁠62–⁠6Guy Morriss14351.2
20043–⁠81–⁠7Guy Morriss1347-8.0
20033–⁠91–⁠7Guy Morriss1316-16.2
20023–⁠91–⁠7Kevin Steele1299-16.0
Every season back to 1903 (96 more)
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20013–⁠80–⁠8Kevin Steele1310-12.8
20002–⁠90–⁠8Kevin Steele1263-16.7
19991–⁠100–⁠8Kevin Steele1277-23.8
19982–⁠91–⁠7Dave Roberts1336-2.4
19972–⁠91–⁠7Dave Roberts1348-12.6
19964–⁠71–⁠7Chuck Reedy1424-4.5
19957–⁠45–⁠2Chuck Reedy15516.6
19947–⁠54–⁠3Chuck Reedy14964.8
19935–⁠63–⁠4Chuck Reedy1468-5.2
19927–⁠54–⁠3Grant Teaff15907.3
19918–⁠45–⁠3Grant Teaff157511.2
19906–⁠4–⁠15–⁠2–⁠1Grant Teaff15558.6
19895–⁠64–⁠4Grant Teaff15578.8
19886–⁠52–⁠5Grant Teaff1501-5.2
19876–⁠53–⁠4Grant Teaff1518-2.8
19869–⁠36–⁠21212Grant Teaff168012.2
19859–⁠36–⁠217Grant Teaff165717.1
19845–⁠64–⁠4Grant Teaff15446.0
19837–⁠4–⁠14–⁠3–⁠1Grant Teaff15457.7
19824–⁠6–⁠13–⁠4–⁠1Grant Teaff1491-3.7
19815–⁠63–⁠5Grant Teaff15614.9
198010–⁠28–⁠014Grant Teaff168918.6
19798–⁠45–⁠314Grant Teaff160517.4
19783–⁠83–⁠5Grant Teaff149711.1
19775–⁠63–⁠5Grant Teaff15184.0
19767–⁠3–⁠14–⁠3–⁠1Grant Teaff15616.4
19753–⁠6–⁠22–⁠5Grant Teaff14826.5
19748–⁠46–⁠114Grant Teaff156816.1
19732–⁠90–⁠7Grant Teaff1352-12.0
19725–⁠63–⁠4Grant Teaff144011.4
19711–⁠90–⁠7Bill Beall1264-23.8
19702–⁠91–⁠6Bill Beall1300-7.6
19690–⁠100–⁠7Bill Beall1262
19683–⁠73–⁠4John Bridgers1396
19671–⁠8–⁠10–⁠6–⁠1John Bridgers1378
19665–⁠53–⁠4John Bridgers1541
19655–⁠53–⁠4John Bridgers1540
19645–⁠54–⁠3John Bridgers1553
19638–⁠36–⁠1John Bridgers1623
19624–⁠63–⁠4John Bridgers1526
19616–⁠52–⁠5John Bridgers1588
19608–⁠35–⁠212John Bridgers1612
19594–⁠62–⁠4John Bridgers1469
19583–⁠71–⁠5Sam Boyd1454
19573–⁠6–⁠10–⁠5–⁠17Sam Boyd1524
19569–⁠24–⁠211Sam Boyd1690
19555–⁠52–⁠4George Sauer1543
19547–⁠44–⁠218George Sauer1610
19537–⁠34–⁠220George Sauer1589
19524–⁠4–⁠21–⁠3–⁠2George Sauer1579
19518–⁠2–⁠14–⁠1–⁠1139George Sauer1703
19507–⁠34–⁠2George Sauer1640
19498–⁠24–⁠220Bob Woodruff1666
19486–⁠3–⁠23–⁠2–⁠1Bob Woodruff1570
19475–⁠51–⁠5Bob Woodruff1442
19461–⁠80–⁠6Frank Kimbrough1348
19455–⁠5–⁠12–⁠4Frank Kimbrough1473
19426–⁠4–⁠13–⁠2–⁠1Frank Kimbrough1521
19413–⁠6–⁠11–⁠4–⁠1Frank Kimbrough1476
19404–⁠60–⁠6Morley Jennings1532
19397–⁠34–⁠219Morley Jennings1596
19387–⁠2–⁠13–⁠2–⁠117Morley Jennings1619
19377–⁠33–⁠315Morley Jennings1589
19366–⁠3–⁠13–⁠2–⁠1Morley Jennings1550
19358–⁠33–⁠3Morley Jennings1537
19343–⁠71–⁠5Morley Jennings1427
19336–⁠44–⁠2Morley Jennings1495
19323–⁠5–⁠11–⁠4–⁠1Morley Jennings1429
19313–⁠61–⁠5Morley Jennings1452
19306–⁠3–⁠13–⁠1–⁠1Morley Jennings1566
19297–⁠3–⁠12–⁠2–⁠1Morley Jennings1502
19288–⁠23–⁠2Morley Jennings1492
19272–⁠70–⁠5Morley Jennings1334
19266–⁠3–⁠13–⁠1–⁠1Morley Jennings1443
19253–⁠5–⁠20–⁠3–⁠2Frank Bridges1461
19247–⁠2–⁠14–⁠0–⁠1Frank Bridges1571
19235–⁠1–⁠21–⁠1–⁠2Frank Bridges1534
19228–⁠35–⁠0Frank Bridges1511
19218–⁠32–⁠2Frank Bridges1499
19204–⁠4–⁠11–⁠2–⁠1Frank Bridges1402
19195–⁠3–⁠10–⁠3–⁠1Bubs Mosley1442
19180–⁠60–⁠2Bubs Mosley1362
19176–⁠2–⁠12–⁠1Bubs Mosley1547
19169–⁠13–⁠1Bubs Mosley1611
19157–⁠13–⁠0Bubs Mosley1517
19143–⁠5–⁠2Bubs Mosley1361
19134–⁠4–⁠2Norman Payne1366
19123–⁠5Ralph Glaze1398
19113–⁠4–⁠2Ralph Glaze1454
19106–⁠0–⁠2Ralph Glaze1551
19095–⁠3Enoch Mills1449
19083–⁠5Enoch Mills1427
19074–⁠3–⁠1Luther Burleson1391
19051–⁠6Archie Webb1319
19042–⁠5–⁠1Sol Metzger1389
19034–⁠3–⁠1R.N. Watts1469

Officially 632–⁠609–⁠44 since 1899 (per Wikipedia, as of 9/13/25); game by game here, 635–⁠607–⁠41 (+3 wins, −2 losses, −3 ties). Our file starts in 1903; the program began in 1899. Official totals drop vacated and forfeited wins. Some games are missing from our source.

No season on file for 1906, 1943–⁠44: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.

Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.