Baylor’s Front Porch: The Athletics Experience for Student-Athletes and Fans

Show Notes

Baylor fans are passionate about the Bears. In a conversation taking place at the NCAA Tournament in Durham, North Carolina, President Livingstone focuses on Baylor Athletics for both student-athletes and fans. Amidst a rapidly-changing college athletics landscape, President Livingstone examines Baylor’s goal to provide transformational experiences for student-athletes, shares insights about Athletic Director Doug McNamee and the vision for enhancing fan experiences, and examines how athletics serves as the “front porch” of the University.

The conversation highlights:

• Baylor Connections first off-campus recording, minutes after Baylor Women’s Basketball’s NCAA Tournament win over Nebraska at Duke University
• The joy of watching Baylor student‑athletes represent the University with excellence on and off the court, and what it evokes in her as both a president and former Division I athlete
• The evolution of women’s college basketball
• Discussion of NIL, the transfer portal, and how Baylor remains committed to holistic, Christian‑mission‑driven development—even when student‑athletes are the unique ability of college football to gather thousands of Baylor supporters together in community.
• Insights into why Doug McNamee was selected as Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, his nontraditional skill set, and his entrepreneurial, creative mindset.
• A look at ongoing efforts to elevate game‑day experiences, from concessions to tailgating to unique traditions—making Baylor events special for families, fans, and alumni who travel from across Texas and beyond.
• The unique ability of college football to gather thousands of Baylor supporters together in community.

Transcript

Derek Smith:
We're here in Durham, North Carolina for today's edition of Baylor Connections with Baylor University President, Dr. Linda Livingstone. And President Livingstone let everyone know exactly the situation here. We are at Duke University. Moments ago, the Baylor women picked up a exciting come from behind win over Nebraska, 67 to 62. By the time you all watch this, we won't know the outcome. You'll know the outcome of the game against Duke on Sunday. We don't know that now, but-

President Livingstone:
We do not.

Derek Smith:
What an exciting day.

President Livingstone:
We could do predictions though, Derek. We could do predictions.

Derek Smith:
We do predictions. Well, you know where I'm with it.

President Livingstone:
I know too.

Derek Smith:
I know where you are.

President Livingstone:
I'm all in on the Bears.

Derek Smith:
Absolutely. Absolutely. It'll be a tough challenge and hopefully they get it done. But, President Livingstone, thanks for joining us. Thanks for being here to support the team like you do. And I got to ask you, I know you're such a big supporter of really all things Baylor Athletics. See you at music plays all the things, but I got to say, "When you see our student athletes on a stage like this, what feelings does that evoke in you?"

President Livingstone:
Well, I love to watch our student athletes participate in whatever sport that it is. They represent us so well on and off the court. And they're so talented, that to watch them out there fighting for every point and every play just makes me really, really proud of them and the way they represent on and off the court.

Derek Smith:
And you know a little bit about that, a lot about that because you played basketball at Oklahoma State University and played in big games, set some records there. But I got to ask you, as you watch the women's game now, what stands out to you about the way it's changed, the way it's grown since you played?

President Livingstone:
Yeah. It's dramatically different now than it was when I played. Of course, I played kind of on the early stages of Title IX. I was an athlete at Oklahoma State from '78 to '82, and the game is a lot faster now. The athletes are so much more athletic and talented. And I think even the coaching, the officiating, all of it has just ramped up so much. And even as you look across institutions, they've invested so much in women's athletics and particularly in basketball. It's exciting to see. I love the way the women's game has progressed. I love the way it has grown so much in terms of fan interest and it's exciting to see, and I think that's just going to continue.

Derek Smith:
We saw today's game that we just witnessed nationally televised on ESPN. We're going to talk about that front porch idea a little bit later on, but just goes to show the interest in the game. I want to ask you to pivot just a little bit. We talk about changes in college athletics a lot, and it's something on everybody's mind. As we look at the way the game continues to change across all sports in the NIL, the transfer portal era, it's important for Baylor to both compete at a high level and be the Christian university it's called to be. As athletics change, what are some of the ways Baylor is working to make sure that we're Baylor to every student athlete, no matter how long they're here?

President Livingstone:
Well, and that has been a really difficult transformation for our coaches and for our staff and our support, I think, because we care deeply about the holistic development of our student athletes and that we create a transformational experience for them, whether that's the way they play as an athlete, but also in terms of their academics, in terms of their spiritual development, their social development. And so in a world where there's a lot of pressure to be very transactional as a student athlete, I think we have to focus on, and I think I'm really proud of our coaches across our sports for doing this on how do we, one, bring in players that certainly want to be great athletes and care about that, but also care about the other aspects of their development.
And then when they're here, regardless of how long they're here, because we know we're only going to have some of them for a year, we have been very fortunate on this women's team to have several of our players that have been here for all four years. And that's a little unusual in the world that we're in today. But no matter how long they're with us, whether it's a year or two or three or four, that we are helping them to grow and develop as young men and young women that are going to go out beyond what they do in athletics and make a difference in the world. And that takes a lot of effort. And I appreciate that our coaches care about that. Our support staff around our programs care about that because that's so important to who we are as a university in a place like Baylor.

Derek Smith:
Yeah. You mentioned some of those fourth year players, Jana Van. We just saw on the Baylor women's team, Jana Van Gytenbeek, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Bella Fowler, and Kyla Abraham.

President Livingstone:
That's right.

Derek Smith:
Only quartet in the Big 12 to all have been at one university for four years.

President Livingstone:
And all of them had really critical roles in this win over Nebraska. Without any one of them, we might not have won this game. So that stability and that continuity makes a huge, huge difference. I hope there's a way over time we can get back to a little bit more of that across college athletics.

Derek Smith:
Absolutely. Absolutely. We know as we talk about athletics at Baylor, we got to talk about Doug McNamee named as our vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics in December. Obviously you were a big part of bringing him here and that whole process. What was it that as you got to know him, you realized he was the right guy for this job?

President Livingstone:
There's just so many qualities that Doug brings to this that helped us to understand that he was the right person to lead our athletics perk through this next phase of college athletics. And part of that's driven by the fact that it has changed so much. But at his core, Doug loves Baylor, loves our Christian mission and cares very deeply about our athletic program. I mean, he was a part of that program for a number of years before he went away. And as he went away, he developed some skills that are just really critical. He's got an entrepreneurial mindset. He's done media work, and he's really helped build businesses.
And in the world we're in today, those skillsets matter a lot. And you will see this as you look around the country at Power Four programs that are hiring new athletic directors, most of the new hires come from non-traditional backgrounds. And so I think we're going to see more and more of that because running an athletic program now is very different than it was even two or three years ago, but certainly five or 10 years ago.

Derek Smith:
So you've been working with him closely now for about three months since he was hired in December. What has stood out about him to you, or what's something that may be surprised you've got to know about him in that time?

President Livingstone:
Well, I've loved working with Doug. And I mean, I knew him before that, but not well, and we had never worked real closely together. I love his passion for the work that he's doing. And I think that's driven partly by his passion for Baylor, but also because he cares so deeply about our athletic program. And I love his creativity. He's always coming to me. He said, "This is something we're working on. I'm really excited about this, and I want to flush it out a little bit more." But he has really thought a lot about how do we evolve and transform as an athletic program in a way that's going to help us compete more effectively in the world that we're in today. I know one of the areas he's really leaning into is fan engagement, and how do we make the experience for our fans even more special than it is.
We clearly want to win games in all of our athletic programs, but how do we wrap fabulous fan experiences around that, that make it really fun for people to be there and to bring their families and their children? And so I think that mindset that he brings to that is going to be really, really helpful to us beyond all the other skills that he brings.

Derek Smith:
We had Doug on this program a few weeks ago and he talked about the passion that exudes from the Baylor family, and you talked about fan experience just now. When I think about there's a lot of competition for people's dollars. We have a alumni base that isn't far, but you got a lot of people in Houston and Dallas and it takes effort to get there. Why is it so important to make that experience the best it can be for them?

President Livingstone:
Well, we want people, whether they're locals in Waco or whether they're driving in from anywhere in Texas or even flying in from outside the country, when they come to any of our athletic events, we want that to be a special moment for them. We want them to love what it feels like to come into the stadium or the arena. We want them to have great food in there. We want there to be excitement and energy during the game for them. And I think that then will draw them coming back.
And then when they leave, they'll go, "Oh my gosh, I was just at a Baylor game. It was amazing. I had so much fun, and we won and it was fun and we had a great time and it was fabulous entertainment." And that will draw other people to the games as well. So it's certainly about the quality of the product on the field or the court, but it's also about all the wraparounds that you bring to help people understand how fun it is to be there. It represents Baylor well, and I think it will draw more and more people to our athletic events.

Derek Smith:
We've already seen Doug and his crew have done a lot to enhance the fan experience. When you look at concessions, tailgating, all those things, it's exciting today.

President Livingstone:
I'm excited about the Bear Claws at the football game.

Derek Smith:
Me too. A lot of that stuff sounded good.

President Livingstone:
Personally. Yeah, I'm really excited.

Derek Smith:
No, that's going to be fun. And the 254, you got some deals. If you want the basics, you got some special things.

President Livingstone:
Sponsors before the games, it's going to be a lot of fun.

Derek Smith:
Tailgating options.

President Livingstone:
Yes.

Derek Smith:
You think about that. I know we are immersed in March Madness right now, but if we look to September, Baylor and Prairie View, you think not just that game, but obviously all of them. What do football Saturdays mean to Baylor University, not just on the Saturdays, but in just terms of bringing people together and really tying generations together?

President Livingstone:
Well, it's a unique opportunity with college football to bring thousands and thousands of your family and friends and alumni together. I was at two institutions after I left Baylor and before I came back, that had division one college athletics programs, but didn't have football teams. And it is just really hard to find opportunities to bring that many people together that care deeply about the university and are all there for the same reason to support and cheer on the institution. So college football at the level at which we play it, is really the only way to get that many people back on your campus, all excited about it and cheering for the institution together. And so we are excited about the season. We're looking forward to the team that's going to be on the field, but we're also looking forward to all the wraparounds. They're going to make it a really fun experience for everyone.

Derek Smith:
Well, President Livingstone, as we wind down, my final question for you, we just saw moments ago the Baylor women win on a national stage. We're talking about football in the fall, and we use that analogy a lot. Athletics is the front porch of the university. I think you've described it a bit here, but what does that analogy mean to you?

President Livingstone:
We love everything that goes on in our institution, the academic things that are going on, the music, the theater, but they do not have the national platform that athletics does when you play at the level that we play at as a power force. So for instance, this game against Nebraska was on national television on ESPN.
There's nothing else we'll do on our campus that will get that many people to watch us on a Friday afternoon do something. And the same thing goes for men's basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, football for sure, where you had that many eyes on the institution, that many people watching us as well as coming to campus. And it's a great platform for us to share our mission as a Christian institution. And I can't say enough about our coaches who live out our mission so well, our players who represent it so well. And then when they compete at the level at which we compete, it just represents the quality and excellence at which we seek to do everything on campus in a way that's so visible to so many people that we just don't have that opportunity with other things we do on our campus.

Derek Smith:
Yeah. We've got students who are every bit of good as researchers, musicians.

President Livingstone:
Absolutely.

Derek Smith:
Actors and actresses, those our student athletes are playing on the field or corner track.

President Livingstone:
Absolutely. And we are just as proud of them as we are of our student athletes. And it's unfortunate in a way that they do not get the visibility and the national exposure, but this does give a window in that causes people to ask about the other things that we're doing and to engage in other ways on our campus. And so it really does benefit the entire university and all of our students across campus.

Derek Smith:
Well, President Livingstone, as we talk on this first Friday of March Madness, I appreciate you jumping on after the Baylor win. Now, want to say, "Thanks," to our friends here at Duke. I know Sunday we're going to be rivals on the court, but we're very appreciative to Duke University for allowing us on this stage to visit with you and making that available. And boy, to be here at Cameron Indoor Stadium. We love Foster Pavilion, but it's exciting to see how other people do it as well.

President Livingstone:
I love the facility, and it's just such a traditional basketball gymnasium. I've loved being here and watching games here.

Derek Smith:
That sounds good. Well, President Linda Livingstone, our guest here on Baylor Connections. Again, we want to say, "Thanks," to Duke University for allowing us this platform to visit and to Baylor Athletics as well. Sophia Hernandez, Justin Hoffen crew for being here with us to allow you to bring this program to the first ever Baylor Connections Off Campus. We appreciate you being with us. Sic 'em Bears, thanks for joining us on Baylor Connections.