Early years

Luther Burleson coached the first basketball staff at Baylor in 1907 also doubling as the soccer coach. In Baylor’s next season of basketball then cross-town rival TCU started their schedule which the Bears defeated twice during the 1908–09 season. Ralph Glaze’s (1911–1914) .788 winning percentage rankings in the top all time in college history. Ralph Wolf (1927–1941) direct Baylor to its very first SWC Championship in 1932 after living and overcoming among the first great tragedies in college sports in his first season as coach.
Immortal Ten
See also: List of mishaps involving sports teams
On January 22, 1927, Coach Ralph Wolf’s Baylor Basketball team was traveling by bus to perform with the University of Texas. As the bus passed through Round Rock, Texas, it approached railroad tracks on the south side of the company district on a drizzly, cloudy day. As the bus crossed the tracks the natives failed to hear the sound of the train whistle and ringing bell. The motorist caught sight of the train at the last minute and attempted to maneuver away, however, the Sunshine Special crashed to the bus at near 60 miles off ripping off the roof and side.
The Immortal Ten Museum Ten Baylor students and basketball players have been murdered by the effect. [3] One participant, James Clyde”Abe” Kelly, driven his friend, Weir Washam, out the window at the bus only minutes before the impact, saving Washam’s life but costing Kelly his very own. The bodies of Kelly and Robert Hailey were discovered horrifically stretched throughout the cow-catcher on the front of the train, with arms locked around each other and Kelly overlooking a leg. Ivy Foster Sr. of Taylor, Texas, had heard of the accident and rushed to the train station in Taylor to meet with the train and help where needed only to locate his son one of the dead.
The deceased were Jack Castellaw, Sam Dillow, Merle Dudley, L.R. “Ivey” Foster Jr., Robert “Bob” Hailey, James Clyde “Abe” Kelly, Willis Murrary, James “Jim” Walker, and William Winchester.
The remainder of the 1927 season was canceled. The catastrophe had reverberations over the entire state and nation and contributed to the building of the first railway overpass in Texas in which the event happened at Round Rock. Buses were later required to return to a full stop and open the door at all rail crossings to listen to trains. The Immortal Ten narrative has been commemorated annually since 1927 at first in Chapel services then later at the Freshman Mass Meeting throughout Homecoming Week. In 2007, the occasion was memorialized in bronze on the Baylor campus at Traditions Plaza.
On the 90th anniversary of the tragedy, January 22, 2017, the City of Round Rock held a memorial event to recall those who had been murdered in the train-bus collision. At the event, the city dedicated the”Immortal Bridge,” which arcs over the railroad tracks where the incident happened. Green lampposts, green-and-gold paint and other markings honor the 10 students who were killed there. The event was open to the general public, and attendees comprised Baylor administrators and student leaders, the spirit squads, and Baylor’s Golden Wave Band.
Post World War II victory Baylor men’s teams won five conference championships at the former Southwest Conference (1932, 1946, 1948, 1949*, 1950*; * discussed shared title). The Bears reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1946, also reached the Final Four in 1948 and 1950. Bill Henderson’s 1948 group progressed to play the Kentucky Wildcats for the NCAA championship, but dropped 58–42 to Adolph Rupp’s first national championship team. The team again advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1950 under Henderson dropping to the Bradley Braves 68–66. Bill Menefee (1962–1973) will lead the Bears into a national ranking in 1969 but failed to make the postseason that year. Menefee was the only trainer over the next 50 years to have a career listing of over .500, and would later serve as Baylor’s athletic director from the 1980s. Gene Iba’s 1988 NCAA championship team are the first NCAA tournament appearance for the app in 38 years.
2003 scandal
Main article: Baylor University basketball scandal
The men’s basketball program was plagued by a scandal in 2003. Patrick Dennehy, a participant for the team, was killed by former teammate Carlton Dotson; then-coach Dave Bliss had been forced to resign amidst allegations that he had violated NCAA rules by making financial payments to four gamers and that he made improper statements to the press characterizing Dennehy as a drug dealer. The school placed itself on probation, limited itself to seven scholarships for two decades and imposed a post-season ban for a year. Additionally, the NCAA further penalized the group by initiating a non-conference ban to the 2005–2006 year and extending the probationary period through which the school would have restricted recruiting statements.
Decade Long Resurgence
The 2005 Bears were hindered by just having 7 scholarship players and listed just one win in conference playwith. In spite of these challenges, head coach Scott Drew managed to gather a 2005 signing class ranked No. 7 nationally by HoopScoop.
The basketball program experienced a resurgence under coach Scott Drew with an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008 for the first time in 20 years using a 9–seven conference record and the group’s first national standing in 39 years. The January 23, 2008 116–110 5OT triumph over Texas A&M at College Station officially became the greatest game in Big 12 history. The 2008–09 team again was ranked early in the season but stumbled on a 5–11 summit finish before heating up in the Big 12 Tournament defeating both Kansas and Texas en route to the championship game versus Missouri, and lost by a score of 73–60. The 2008–2009 team recorded the program’s first postseason victory since 1950 in its first round NIT victory within the Georgetown Hoyas in Waco.
The 2008–09 team went on to advance to the NIT Final where they fell to Penn State. The 2009–10 squad was again ranked in both polls and pulled off the largest road win in school history over the afterward #6 Texas Longhorns at Austin 80–77 on Jan. 30th. The Bears closed out the season with a Big 12 era best 11–5 album and #3 seed at the Big 12 championship.
The 2009–10 group was picked to finish 10th in the Big 12 at the Big 12 Coaches Poll due to the graduation of several important players from the preceding year. On the other hand, the team ended the regular season 23–6 and tied for 2nd in the Big 12 standings. After a 2–1 record in the Big 12 championship, the Bears were rewarded with a #3 seed in the South Region of the NCAA tournament. The Bears defeated #14 seed Sam Houston State 68–59 at First Round action and then defeated #11 seed Old Dominion 76–68 in Second Round drama to advance to the Sweet 16 hosted in Reliant Stadium in Houston. The Bear’s Sweet 16 match-up was #10 seed Saint Mary’s, which had defeated #2 seed Villanova the previous week to advance to the Sweet 16. The Bears won handily over the Gaels, 72–49, after major 47–19 at the half. The Elite Eight was held in Reliant Stadium and the Bears’ competition was the #1 seed Duke Blue Devils, the final #1 seed status at the NCAA tournament after another three #1 seeds (Kansas, Syracuse, and Kentucky) were defeated by lower seeded teams. In front of a very pro-Baylor crowd of over 47,000, the Bears were defeated by the Duke Blue Devils, 78–71, to finish the magic run to the Elite Eight. It had been the best season in the Scott Drew era as defined by convention standing, overall standing, wins, and NCAA tournament wins. The Bears finished the year ranked #10 from the last ESPN/Coaches Poll–the highest ranking in program history at that time.
The 2010–11 team started the season ranked 14th (according to this AP Preseason poll). The Bears began 7–0, and climbed to 9th from the polls before falling to Gonzaga in a neutral court in Dallas. The group ended 18–13 overall and 7–9 in league playwith. The highlight of this season was Lacedarius Dunn becoming the Big 12’s all-time top scorer, and a sweep of the series versus rated Texas A&M. After freshman star Perry Jones III was suspended by the NCAA for six matches, the Bears proceeded to shed their first-round game of the Big 12 Tournament against Oklahoma.
The 2012 season saw another historic effort for the Bears as they followed the 2011 year with another successful conference run that saw the Bears win 30 games and make it to the Big 12 tournament title game. The Bears were selected for the NCAA tournament and made it all the way to the Elite Eight, which ended in a loss to eventual national champion Kentucky.
The 2013 year witnesses another winning campaign for the Bears as they followed up the 2012 Elite Eight season with another successful conference run that saw the Bears sweep both TCU and Texas Tech while just dropping one match to UT. The bears started out using a pre-season ranking of #19 in the country. The Bears finish conference play .500 and have been chosen for the NIT tournament. The Bears made it all the way to the Closing, which finished in a triumph over Iowa, winning the tournament in front of a sizable audience in Madison Square Garden and claiming the 2013 NIT Title.

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