Commentary: Grand visions for Baylor still awaiting fruition
2003-08-17
By Berry Tramel
The Oklahoman
The Rev. Sam Porter, once a Southwest Conference linebacker, now a man of God, has a vision.
It's a grand thought, really. A noble notion.
For 30 years, Porter has harbored the hope that little Baptist boys all over America, sitting in Sunday School classes or singing "Just As I Am" on wooden pews, would dream of playing ball for Baylor.
Porter's dream never has been further from reality than this horrible summer of 2003.
The Baptist mecca in Waco, Texas, has been rocked by the death of basketball player Patrick Dennehey allegedly at the hands of teammate Carlton Dotson, followed by a series of scandals, from NCAA rules violations to drug use, that cost coach Dave Bliss and athletic director Tom Stanton their jobs.
Suddenly, bad football wasn't Baylor's biggest problem.
A school with already- tenuous status in the Big 12 now must wonder if the effort is worth it, if all the millions spent trying to keep up with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, much less Texas and Oklahoma, is wasted. Baylor, a school that exists to exalt Baptist beliefs, must wonder what kind of message is coming from the banks of the Brazos River.
But while some of us see Baylor for what it is, others see it for what it could be.
Count Sam Porter in the latter crowd.
Porter, who spent 20 years pastoring in Eakly, Bartlesville and Sapulpa, is the Baptist state director for men's ministries.
He grew up in Marietta, played football and jumped at the chance to sign with a Southwest Conference school. In Porter's first two years on campus, Baylor went 3-18, giving the Bears seven wins in five seasons.
Then in 1972, Baylor turned to a little-known coach from Angelo State, and Porter had a front-row seat for the liftoff of history. In 21 Waco seasons, Grant Teaff's teams went 128-105-6 and twice went to the Cotton Bowl, which had been virgin territory for the Bears.
In 1974, when Porter could have had a final season of eligibility but chose instead to focus on the ministry, he sat in the Floyd Casey Stadium stands on Saturdays and cried as Baylor pulled off the Miracle on the Brazos, winning its first SWC title since 1924.
The Sunday morning after Baylor's historic victory over Texas, Dallas' First Baptist Church choir sang "That Good Ol' Baylor Line."
That's the spirit Porter always felt Baylor could capture. Heck, even as a player, Porter proposed the vision to Teaff.
There are 47,000 Southern Baptist churches in the United States. If Baptists just could make the boys in those churches think of Baylor the way Catholic boys think of Notre Dame, Waco would become a destination.
To Teaff in 1973 and to Baylor president Robert Sloan in 2003, Porter has tried to sell the idea for 30 years. Baptists buy it; they just don't know how to implement it.
Not that Porter does either. Probably it starts with pride. Then moves on to commitment. Porter's point: no shortage of pride or commitment at Baylor.
Porter reels off names of Oklahoma kids who were raised Baptist and could have been Baylor recruits, from Davis (Sallisaw, class of 1971) to Kevin Bookout (Stroud 2002).
"There's thousands of stories like that, if it could ever be developed," Porter said.
Now, the story of Baylor is the story of Patrick Dennehey and Dave Bliss. A player who lost his life in Waco, and a coach who lost his reputation.
Even the staunchest Baptist, athlete or not, will have reservations about choosing Baylor.
Despite this awful summer, Porter says Baylor sports can be a great ambassador for Baptists. "Christian principles and values, I see people with that foundation being able to bounce back, whether it's an individual or a church or an institution," Porter said.
Porter communicates with Sloan, the Baylor president, from time to time. Last fall, Porter called Sloan to plug former NFL star Mike Singletary for the Baylor coaching job that eventually went to Guy Morriss. Porter thought Singletary might cash in on the Baylor spirit.
And Thursday, Sloan called Porter after learning Porter was going to chat with The Oklahoman about Baylor's plight.
Sloan's message: the school remains committed to excellence, and support from Baylor alumni has been strong since the scandal exploded nine days ago, with Bliss' and Stanton's resignations.
Baylor has some positives, especially in football. Baptist school in a Baptist state eaten up with football. Superb recruiting location, between Dallas and Houston and San Antonio; not too far, really, from any of Texas' fertile crops. New facilities that aren't the best in the league but are far from the worst.
Some football programs are destitute because they've chosen to be. A pet peeve of OU athletic director Joe Castiglione is the chasm between the haves and have-nots; the have-nots, Castiglione says, have chosen to be have-nots.
But not so with Baylor. The Bears have tried. They have spent big money to compete in the Big 12. So far, it has not paid off.
The Bears have four Big 12 wins in the league's seven years of existence. Morriss is their fourth coach since Teaff. And now the basketball scandal has scalded the entire school.
Can the Baylor-Big 12 marriage survive this? Will the Baylor brass, despite a stiff upper lip, at some point soon seek softer landing, like the WAC or Conference USA?
I think it's possible. I think the Big 12 would be wise to be scouting possible replacements. If Arkansas or LSU aren't interested, then Brigham Young or New Mexico or TCU or somebody.
But the dedication of people like Porter give Baylor a fighting chance. And his vision seems the best.
Baylor must make little Baptist boys grow up dreaming of going to Waco.
