The Enduring Legacy of Baylor University Women's Basketball

Baylor University's women's basketball program boasts a rich history marked by consistent success, national recognition, and dedicated individuals. From its humble beginnings to its current status as a national powerhouse, the program has evolved significantly, leaving an indelible mark on the world of collegiate sports.

Early Years and Olga Strand's Influence

The foundation of Baylor's women's athletic program was laid within the physical education department in 1959. Olga Strand joined the faculty of Baylor University in 1956 and served as an assistant professor of physical education through 1997. From 1972 to 1979, she served as the coordinator of women's athletics. Olga Strand developed Baylor's women's athletic program from its beginning within the physical education department in 1959. Her contributions were recognized with her induction into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. Under her coaching, the softball team advanced to the AIAW regional tournament in 1978 and 1979.

The Kim Mulkey Era: A Dynasty is Born

In 2000, Kim Mulkey took over a Baylor program that had made the WNIT Finals in 1998 and made a return trip to the WNIT in 1999. Mulkey's arrival marked a turning point in the program's history. In her first season at Baylor she led the Lady Bears program to its first NCAA tournament bid. Under her leadership, the program achieved unprecedented success, transforming into a national powerhouse. The Lady Bears have now (as of 2019) put together 19 consecutive 20-win seasons and only once has the team lost more than 10 games in a season.

National Championships and Undefeated Seasons

The rise of the Baylor program under Mulkey was capped off in 2005 with a national title. This made her the fourth person to have won NCAA Division I basketball titles as a player and a head coach (after Joe B. Hall, Bob Knight and Dean Smith) and the first woman to do so. The Lady Bears also captured the 2012 title with an undefeated season and the 2019 title. Only the University of Connecticut (11) and the University of Tennessee (8) claim more national titles than Baylor’s three, all of which have come since 2005. Connecticut is the only other program with multiple titles in that timespan.

Consistent Excellence and National Rankings

Baylor has finished ninth or better in the final national rankings every year since 2009, and the Lady Bears were last unranked at season’s end in 2003 when Baylor was runner-up in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. Entering this season, seven Lady Bears have earned first-team All-America honors in Mulkey’s tenure. Two - Brittney Griner (2012, 2013) and Odyssey Sims (2014) - claimed national player of the year awards.

Read also: Baylor's Notable Alumni

Big 12 Dominance

There are now three great certainties in life: death, taxes and Baylor Women’s Basketball winning the Big 12 Conference. The Lady Bears claimed their 11th consecutive regular-season Big 12 title this year, extending their dominance over the league. Baylor’s run of conference titles is the nation’s longest active streak and tied for the fifth longest in NCAA women’s basketball history. The Lady Bears have won the Big 12 regular-season title for nearly half of the league’s 25-year history.

The 2020-21 Season

The 2020-21 Baylor Lady Bears basketball team represented Baylor University in the 2020-21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The team played its home games at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas and were members of the Big 12 Conference. They were led by Hall of Fame coach Kim Mulkey in her 20th and final season with the Bears. This year’s title came amidst unprecedented circumstances for all of college athletics. Disruptions due to COVID-19 led to attendance restrictions at the Ferrell Center with schedule alterations during a generational winter storm. Mulkey, who was named Big 12 Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season and ninth overall, has built Baylor into one of the nation’s elite programs.

Transition to "Bears" and the Foster Pavilion

Before the 2021-22 season, the team had been known as the "Lady Bears", but on September 3, 2021, the school officially announced that women's basketball had dropped "Lady" from its nickname. The Baylor Bears women's basketball team represents Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games in the Foster Pavilion.

The Legacy of Lady: A Symbol of Baylor Spirit

One of Baylor's treasured American black bears, Lady - along with her sister, Joy - will forever be remembered as enduring symbols of Baylor's spirit and tradition. Lady rests in the sunshine in the bears' off-campus enrichment facility. “Miracle Bear”Lady also was well known to the Baylor Family as the “Miracle Bear,” overcoming two health challenges in 2019 and 2020 through the love and care of her Bear Habitat student caregivers and staff and the medical expertise of her veterinarians at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Lady welcomed Family Weekend visitors to campus. After Joy passed away on July 18, 2022, Lady continued to receive the world-class supervision and protection of her caregivers in the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat, which is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. In her retirement, Lady made special Homecoming visits to campus. With an older bear and two cubs to care for, the Bear Habitat fully staffed and funded two dedicated caregiver teams, one focused on providing full dignity and grace through end-of-life care for Lady and the other dedicated to the growth and development of Indy and Belle. In her golden years, Lady also made time for special visits back to the Williams Bear Habitat, especially during Homecoming in 2023 and 2024.These were cherished moments as she was reunited with her caregivers, fans and previous trainers.

Lady's Early Life and Arrival at Baylor

Active, curious, mischievous, energeticLady was born Jan. 31, 2002, at West Coast Game Park in Bandon, Oregon. From the moment she joined her sister at Baylor as a rambunctious 5-month-old cub, Lady captured the hearts of Baylor students, alumni, faculty and staff and more than 250,000 campus visitors a year. Lady as a 5-month-old cub. With her sister named after Baylor First Lady Joy Reynolds, wife of Baylor’s 11th President Herbert H. Reynolds, Lady also shared a name with another Baylor First Lady, Sue Sloan, wife of Dr. Robert B. Lady meets her namesake, First Lady Sue Sloan, and the Sloan family. In June 2002, Lady arrived on the Baylor campus with her student trainer, Adam Ylitalo, B.S. ’04, with the bear cub making a memorable first impression on the Sloan family. Formally introduced to her namesake at Allbritton House, the president's home on the Baylor campus, the “very active, very curious, very mischievous and energetic” cub frolicked on the front lawn and downed a few bottles of special zoological formula before practicing her impressive climbing skills on a Live Oak tree. She was an expert tree climber nearly all her life.

Lady and Joy: An Inseparable Pair

As Lady was growing as a Baylor Bear, she and Joy were slowly introduced to one another, with their student trainers building up their interactions over a seven-month period before they were fully placed together in their campus home, the Steve Hudson Memorial Bear Plaza, in 2003. The sisters were an inseparable pair from that moment on.

The Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat

Just two years later at Baylor Homecoming, Lady and Joy celebrated with hundreds of students, alumni and donors as the University officially dedicated their new home, the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat. Lady loved exploring all corners of the greatly expanded facility, which provided a natural environment with two separate yards for roaming and enrichment, along with trees, two pools, a stream and waterfall, two caves and a den. It was there that Lady and Joy could be found playing together, swimming in their pools, napping in the shade and foraging for their favorite treats. Lady was particularly fond of apricots and peanut butter as a special treat. She also loved her weekly trips with Joy away from campus to a large enrichment facility where she roamed, climbed trees and enjoyed additional exercise and “goal-based” enrichment. Lady reaches for her favorite apricots placed in a tree as part of goals-based enrichment. Lady also excelled at “voluntary vet care,” where she learned natural behaviors that allowed her veterinarian to check her teeth, muscles and other important aspects of her physical health, which reduced the stress of yearly vaccinations or exams and reduced the need to rely on anesthesia or invasive measures to conduct routine care.

Distinguishing Lady and Joy

Both Lady and Joy carried fur that ranged from cinnamon brown to jet black depending on the season, even gaining internet fame for the annual Baylor Bear Fur Tracker that tracked their transitions into their sleek black summer coat. However, there was a way Baylor fans could tell the difference by observing another of the Bears’ natural behaviors - a move that simulated fans’ traditional “Bear Claw” hand signal paired with Baylor’s “Sic ’em, Bears” cheer. When the Bears raised their paw in a Sic ’em, as bears do naturally when reaching for berries in trees, Lady was the one with her left paw proudly in the air.

Lady's Impact and Media Appearances

Lady and Joy were instrumental in spreading the Baylor spirit and supporting all of Baylor’s teams through their growing social media presence on Instagram, which included their popular gameday picks (always Baylor!). Lady and her sister also made numerous national TV appearances on ESPN, FOX Sports, CBS and even on “Jeopardy!” as a question (correctly answered!).

Lady's Golden Years and Legacy

In 2020, as the world and the Baylor campus changed dramatically as COVID-19 began to spread across the country, Lady and Joy teamed up with their student caregivers to bring happiness and hope to the Baylor Family and beyond. The Bears sent thousands of encouraging postcards to friends and families across the globe and offered a variety of virtual educational programming, like the weekly “Joy & Lady’s Cub Club,” to engage kids (and kids at heart!) in bear-themed activities and more when visitors couldn’t physically visit the Habitat. As Lady and her sister entered their later years, their student caregivers modified all trainings, enrichments and diets according to the recommendations of the Bears’ veterinary care team to reflect the care they would need in their unique stages of life. Lady enjoyed enrichment activities - and simply relaxing in the grass - in the Williams Bear Habitat. Lady and Joy also never missed an opportunity to celebrate their January birthdays at the Williams Bear Habitat with a party that brought hundreds of students and Bear fans to campus to enjoy cake and special treat, like “Joy & Lady’s Favorite,” a grapefruit and honey-flavored ice cream from Heritage Creamery created in honor of their birthdays and inspired by some of their favorite foods. Lady was predeceased by her sister, Joy, and two brothers in California, including one who was an actor that appeared in multiple films and television productions. She also is survived by dozens of Baylor student caregivers within the Baylor Chamber of Commerce, who dedicated themselves to providing Lady with the very best care for nearly 25 years, seven days a week, 365 days a year, including between semesters, on major holidays and regardless of weather conditions. Baylor University extends its deepest gratitude to the student caregivers and staff of the Baylor Chamber of Commerce and the veterinarians at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in College Station for their dedication to the care of our Bears and their genuine love for Lady and her quality of life.

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Memorial contributions to honor Lady’s memory and legacy can be made to the Bear Habitat/Mascot Fund at baylor.edu/bear. All donations will support the continued enhancements to the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat, benefiting current Bears Indy and Belle and the future generations of Baylor's Black bear ambassadors. Opportunities to celebrate and honor the life and legacy of Lady will be announced later this year. Cards and letters may be sent to Baylor Bear Habitat, One Bear Place #97074, Waco, TX 76798-7185.

The Baylor Chamber of Commerce and the Bear Mascots

Another responsibility of the Chamber has been the maintenance of the bear mascots. The first bears were given to the University in 1917, and the Chamber assumed responsibility for them soon afterwards.

The Evolution of the Bear Habitat

The Bear Pit, the greatest physical evidence of the work of the Chamber on the Baylor campus, has undergone a series of renovations. In 1949 and 1953, little cages were added. It was also in 1953 that a special trailer was purchased to transport the mascot to the games. In 1962, another new cage was added to accommodate the growing mascot population. In 1976 marked a complete renovation of the Bear Pit area, as well as the renaming of the area as the Steve Hudson Memorial Bear Plaza. The current habitat, The Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat, was opened in 2005 and includes many features that make that space more natural for the bears. Features include a waterfall, river, caves, as well as a spacious indoor facility where the bears can spend their nights.

Current Mascots

Current Mascots -Judge Indy (for Independence, Texas. The birthplace of Baylor University)Judge Belle (for the McLane Carillon bells - housed in the iconic tower of Pat Neff Hall)Remembering Judge Sue "Lady" Sloan-Named for Baylor's former first lady Sue Sloan, who is the wife of Dr. Robert Sloan, the 12th President of Baylor. Lady loved visits from schoolchildren from throughout Central Texas, who shared in the thrill of meeting Lady and Joy and learning about the Bears' unique mission of stewardship, education and conservation. At times it could be difficult to identify the bears with their ever changing coat colors.

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