Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist university in Waco , Texas . Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas , Baylor is the oldest university in Texas and was one of the first educational institutions west of the Mississippi River . The university ' s 800 - acre campus is located near the banks of the Brazos River on freeway I - 35 , between the Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex and Austin . Baylor University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools . History . In 1841 , 35 delegates to the Union Baptist Association meeting voted to adopt the suggestion of Rev . William Milton Tryon and R . E . B . Baylor to establish a Baptist university in Texas , then a self - declared republic still claimed by Mexico . Baylor , a Texas district judge and onetime U . S . Congressman and soldier from Alabama , became the school ' s namesake . In the fall of 1844 , the Texas Baptist Education Society petitioned the Congress of the Republic of Texas to charter a Baptist university . Republic President Anson Jones signed the Act of Congress on Feb . 1 , 1845 , officially establishing Baylor University . The founders built the original university campus in Independence , Texas . Rev . James Huckins , the first Southern Baptist missionary to Texas , was Baylor ' s first full - time fundraiser . He is considered the third founding father of the university . Although these three men are credited as being the founders of the university , many others worked to see the first university established in Texas and thus they were awarded Baylor ' s Founders Medal . The famous Texas revolutionary war leader and hero Sam Houston gave the first $ 5 , 000 donation to start the university . In 1854 , Houston was also baptized by the Rev . Rufus Columbus Burleson , future Baylor President , in the Brazos River . In 1851 , Baylor ' s second president Rufus Columbus Burleson decided to separate the students by gender , making the Baylor Female College an independent and separate institution . Baylor University became an all - male institution . During this time , Baylor thrived as the only university west of the Mississippi offering instruction in law , mathematics and medicine . Many of the early leaders of the Republic of Texas , such as Sam Houston , later sent their children to Baylor to be educated . Some of those early students were , Temple Lea Houston , son of President Sam Houston , a famous western gun - fighter and attorney . Along with Lawrence Sullivan " Sul " Ross famous Confederate General and later President of Texas A & M University . During the American Civil War , the Baylor president was George Washington Baines , maternal great - grandfather of the future U . S . President , Lyndon Baines Johnson . He worked vigorously to sustain the university during the Civil War , when male students left their studies to enlist in the Confederate Army and serve Texas in various military campaigns . Following the war , the city of Independence slowly declined , primarily caused by the rise of neighboring cities being serviced by the Santa Fe Railroad . Because Independence lacked a railroad line , university fathers began searching for a location to build a new campus . Beginning in 1885 , Baylor University moved to Waco , Texas , a growing town on the railroad line . It merged with a local college called Waco University . At the time , Rufus Burleson , Baylor ' s second president , was serving as the local college ' s president . That same year , the Baylor Female College also was moved to a new location , Belton , Texas . It later became known as the University of Mary Hardin - Baylor . A Baylor College Park still exists in Independence in memory of the college ' s history there . Around 1887 , Baylor University began readmitting women and became coeducational again . In 1900 , three physicians founded the University of Dallas Medical Department in Dallas , although a university by that name did not exist . In 1903 , Baylor University acquired the medical school , which became known as the Baylor College of Medicine , while remaining in Dallas . In 1943 , Dallas civic leaders offered to build larger facilities for the university in a new medical center if the College of Medicine would surrender its denominational alliances with the Baptist state convention . The Baylor administration refused the offer and , with funding from the M . D . Anderson Foundation and others , moved the College of Medicine to Houston . In 1969 , the Baylor College of Medicine became technically independent from Baylor University . During World War II , Baylor was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V - 12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission . Presidents . During its more than 160 years of history , Baylor has had 14 presidents , whose leadership has shaped the growth of the institution ( Interim presidents are noted ) : ( Note : While Rufus C . Burleson served as Baylor ' s President twice , he is counted only once in the presidential count . This makes Reddin Andrews the fifth president and Oscar Henry Cooper the sixth president . Additionally , the interim presidents are not counted in the presidential count . ) Academics . Rankings . As reported in the 2013 " Best Colleges " rankings by " U . S . News & World Report " , Baylor is No . 77 out of 262 national universities . The university ' s 2011 acceptance rate was 39 . 7 percent . According to the College Board , of the fall 2012 entering freshman class of 3 , 254 students , approximately 75 percent of the incoming students were in the top 20 percent of their high school class . This class consisted of 52 percent students in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class , and 99 percent in the top half . Of undergraduates who returned after their freshman year , Baylor had the best rate in the State of Texas with almost 87 percent choosing to return to complete their degrees . Baylor is among the 10 percent of U . S . colleges and universities to have a Phi Beta Kappa chapter . The average American College Test ( ACT ) score of Baylor undergrad students was 27 . The average SAT scores were as follows : Math was 627 , Reading was 610 and Writing was 591 . There were 1 , 233 transfer applicants , in which 736 ( 59 percent ) were accepted . The number of admitted transfer students who chose to enroll at Baylor was 451 ( 36 percent ) . According to " The Princeton Review " , Baylor was ranked a Best Western College . In addition , " The Princeton Review " ranked Baylor 2nd in marketing programs . Baylor University has been named a “ Best Value in Private Colleges ” by Kiplinger ’ s Personal Finance magazine for 2011 - 2012 . Approximately 90 percent of students receive some type of financial aid from a mixture of sources ; the student to faculty ratio is 14 to 1 , with the average undergraduate class size of 27 . The university first received school accreditation in 1914 when it became an accredited member of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools . The Baylor College of Medicine received accreditation from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1970 . In 2012 , the American Council of Trustees and Alumni included Baylor in its " What Will They Learn ? " study , which is an annual evaluation system of colleges and universities . The report assigns a letter grade to 1 , 070 universities based on how many of the following seven core subjects are required : composition , literature , foreign language , American history , economics , mathematics and science . Baylor was one of only 21 schools to receive an " A " grade , which is assigned to schools that include at least six of the seven designated subjects in their core curriculum . Graduate rankings . Several Baylor graduate programs , including its Law School , Hankamer School of Business and programs in the sciences and education are nationally ranked . Institutional organization . The university is divided into eleven degree - granting academic units . Two of the units are designated as colleges , while eight others are designated as schools . They are : Additionally , the " George W . Truett Theological Seminary " is a unit of the university . Student life . More than 15 , 000 students study at Baylor , representing all 50 states , the District of Columbia and approximately 85 foreign countries . The university clubs and organizations provide each student with an opportunity to become engaged with an organization that shares his or her interests . Greek organizations . A number of students participate in Greek life at Baylor . Approximately 14 percent of undergraduate men are members of fraternities . Meanwhile , 19 percent of undergraduate women ( highest female Greek rate in Texas ) are members of a sorority . There are four councils at Baylor . Most of the national fraternities on campus had existed previously as local fraternities for many years before affiliating with their national organizations . Beginning in the late 1970s , these locals began to affiliate with national fraternities . Fraternities and sororities are very active all year with various service events , mixers , football tailgates , formals , out of town weekends and All University Sing . Fraternities and sororities often collaborate in the fall to build parade floats for Baylor ' s Homecoming celebrations , one of the oldest in the nation . Baylor University possesses 12 Interfraternity Council ( IFC ) fraternities and eight National Panhellenic Conference sororities : Non IFC Fraternities , Social Clubs , & Non NPC Soroities Golden Wave Marching Band . The Baylor University Golden Wave Band ( BUGWB ) is the halftime entertainment for Baylor football . The band attends every home football and sometimes travels to away games . The band ' s name dates back to 1928 when , while on tour in West Texas , observers noted that the band members ' gold uniforms looked like a giant " golden wave " sweeping over the landscape . Military service . Baylor University has a strong history of military service and offers both Army and Air Force ROTC for students . Baylor has had several famous military graduates such as Andrew Jackson Lummus , Jr . , who fought and died at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II and received the Medal of Honor for his service . John Riley Kane also received the Medal of Honor for his service after flying 43 combat missions for a total of 250 combat hours in Europe , Africa and the Middle East . Kane ' s daring operations caused German intelligence reports to dub him " Killer Kane . " In July 1948 , the Air Force and Baylor University partnered in the creation of Air Force ROTC Detachment 810 - one of the first detachments ever created . In 2008 , Detachment 810 was awarded the Air Force ROTC Right Of Line Award as the No . 1 large detachment in the nation . The unit was additionally awarded the High Flight Award , recognizing it as one of the top four detachments in America . It has been named best in the AFROTC Southwest Region for 1996 , 2003 and 2008 . Research and endowment . In 2005 , the university was invited to join the Collider Detector at Fermilab ( CDF ) collaboration at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia , Illinois . The project is one of the world ' s largest experimental physics collaborations . The following year , Carnegie Foundation upgraded the university ' s classification to " Research University " status with " High Research Activity , " opening the door to many new research opportunities . In October 2009 , a group of state , county and city governments and organizations and higher educational institutions in Central Texas announced the creation of the Central Texas Technology and Research Park , and the park ' s first project , the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative ( BRIC ) to be housed in the former General Tire facility on South Loop Drive in Waco . Funding for the effort came from the state of Texas and Baylor University . Clifton Robinson ( a member of Baylor ' s Board of Regents ) donated the facility to the university to support the research collaborative . Several former and present members of faculty at Baylor are involved in the intelligent design debate , most notably philosopher William Dembski , now at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary , Christian philosopher Francis Beckwith and electrical engineer Robert J . Marks II . The university ' s endowment passed $ 1 billion in 2007 and reached $ 1 , 055 , 478 , 000 on December 31 , 2007 . Despite the economic crisis of 2008 , Baylor spokesperson Lori Fogleman reported that Baylor ' s endowment grew 5 . 1 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30 , 2008 ; the National Association of College and University Business Officials estimated that during that same period , the median return for the top 25 percent of college endowments decreased by 2 . 2 percent . Fogleman cited the university ' s long - term investments and diversified holdings as the cause of the endowment ' s success . As of December 2008 , the Baylor endowment totaled less than $ 1 billion , down from a May high of $ 1 . 06 billion . A consulting firm hired by the university expressed concern that the disagreements within the Baylor community could hinder the endowment from continuing its four - year streak of increased endowment donation totals and its 2012 goal of a $ 2 billion endowment , though the current economy may also prevent both . On March 4 , 2010 , " An anonymous longtime Baylor donor . . . set up an estate provision that will benefit the school to the tune of an estimated $ 200 million dollars . The gift will bolster Baylor ' s research on the issues of aging in multiple disciplines at the school . " Citing the most recent data reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education , Baylor officials say the $ 200 million donation is the second - largest gift to a Texas college or university and ranks among the top 20 private gifts to higher education institutions in the country . Athletics . Baylor ' s men ' s sports teams are nicknamed the Bears , and the women ' s teams are nicknamed the Lady Bears . Student athletes participate in the NCAA ' s Division I . Baylor was a charter member of the Southwest Conference and remained a member until its dissolution in 1996 . Baylor is now a member of the Big 12 Conference along with former SWC members TCU , Texas and Texas Tech . Baylor has won three NCAA titles . In 2004 , the men ' s tennis team defeated UCLA in the championship match . In 2005 , the Baylor Lady Bears basketball team beat Michigan State in the championship game . In 2012 , the Baylor Lady Bears basketball team beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the NCAA national championship ; the first college basketball team ever to finish with a perfect 40 - 0 record . Baylor ' s 2011 football team completed a 10 - 3 season with a win over the University of Washington Huskies in the Alamo Bowl and finished the season ranked No . 12 in the nation . Quarterback Robert Griffin III was the recipient of the Heisman Trophy as the nation ' s most outstanding college football player . During the past three seasons , the Baylor men ' s basketball team has twice advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA ' March Madness ' Championship tournament . Under the direction of head coach Scott Drew , Baylor has achieved a record of 121 - 55 ( . 688 ) over the past five seasons and reached post season play in four of those years . Four former Baylor basketball players have been drafted in the first or second round of the NBA Draft in the past two seasons ; Epke Udoh ( first round ) , Perry Jones III ( first round ) , Quincy Acy ( second round ) and Quincy Miller ( second round ) . Traditions . Homecoming . Baylor University is the originator of the Homecoming tradition in the United States . The Baylor Homecoming event was launched in November 1909 as a way to reconnect Baylor alumni with current students . The event includes a football game , bonfire , concerts , speeches , receptions , class reunions , pep rallies , and the nations oldest and longest collegiate parade . Memorial Lamp Posts . During World War II more than 4 , 000 Baylor men and women served in the U . S . Armed Forces , more than 125 of whom died during the war . Since 1946 , a red granite lamp post has been erected in each of the fallen ' s honor to stand as a guard by day and illuminate the paths of campus by night . Ever since , a new lamp post has been added for each Baylor alumnus or student who has fallen in service to the country . The lamp posts are all of the same design and contain bronze plaques detailing the life and manner of death of the individual service member . The Baylor Line . The Baylor Line is a tradition which started in 1970 at Baylor University . It is made entirely of freshmen and is at the heart of building Baylor spirit and tradition for new students . Freshmen wear a football jersey with the number of their proposed graduation year and a nickname on the back . All University Sing . All University Sing is an annual spring semester variety show featuring clubs and organizations on campus . In 1958 , Pigskin Revue was added as a Homecoming event that featured the best acts from the previous spring ' s competition . Up until 1963 , the event was primarily groups singing in the style of a choir on a riser . Since then the event has grown to the include high energy Broadway style song and dance numbers . In 2003 , Baylor celebrated 50 Years of Sing with commemorative books , DVDs and reunions . Alma mater . Baylor ' s alma mater is " That Good Old Baylor Line " . In 1906 , a student penned humorous words to the tune of " In the Good Old Summer Time " and they became generally accepted among the student body as the school fight song . However , in 1931 , Enid Eastland Markham , wife of music professor Robert Markham , feeling the words were not dignified enough nor representative of the total university , wrote new lyrics which were soon sanctioned as the official school song . The " Good Old Summer Time " tune was later arranged to fit Mrs . Markham ' s " Baylor Line " through the work of Jack Goode , Donald I . Moore and Charles F . Brown . " Diadeloso " . Every spring since 1934 , Baylor takes a Thursday off from classes for a spring holiday which since 1966 has been known as " Diadeloso " ( Spanish for " Day of the Bear " ) . The Baylor University Chamber of Commerce organizes the event which consists of entertainment of all types . Events on campus include : tug - o - war , free food , dog shows and concerts . Immortal Ten . In January 1927 a bus carrying the Baylor basketball team collided with the Sunshine Special train in Round Rock , Texas . Ten members of the traveling party were killed and many others were injured in the accident . Each year at homecoming the story of the Immortal Ten is told again to the new freshman class at the Freshman Mass Meeting . The names of the ten are called out . In 1996 , the senior class provided initial funding to create and place an Immortal Ten statue on campus . Fund raising and discussions about where to place the statues continued off and on over the ensuing years . Finally , on June 22 , 2007 , the statues , which were sculpted by Bruce R . Greene , were unveiled . The Immortal Ten memorial was officially dedicated during Homecoming on Nov . 2 , 2007 in Traditions Square . Mascot . The school mascot is the American black bear . Baylor University houses two live American black bears on campus . They are named Judge Joy Reynolds and Judge Sue Sloan , affectionately referred to as " Joy " and " Lady " , respectively . In the fall of 2005 , the university finished renovation and construction of the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat , a $ 1 million facility which includes a thirteen - foot ( four - metre ) waterfall , three pools , two dens , grass , and eye - level viewing . The facility is a United States Department of Agriculture - licensed Class C Zoo . It was formally dedicated on Oct . 28 , 2005 . The NoZe Brotherhood . The NoZe Brotherhood , an unofficial fraternal organization founded in 1924 , provides the university with unusual public pranks and satirical writings in its newspaper , " The Rope " . University Mace . During the War of 1812 , Cyrus Baylor , brother of R . E . B . Baylor , was cited for his bravery with the presentation of a gold sword by President Jackson . In 1957 , it was given to the university . In 1974 , Baylor president Abner V . McCall suggested that the sword be used to form the focal point of a ceremonial " symbol of authority . " A timber from one of Old Main ' s towers was used to construct a base and center pole . Walking canes of former Baylor President Rufus C . Burleson and Gen . Sam Houston , who had been baptized by Burleson and had been a supporter of the university , were linked to the sword to form the Mace . It is used at all university commencement exercises and at other special ceremonies . Notable alumni , faculty and staff . There are over 120 , 000 living Baylor alumni .