Daily Bears Report 12/9/2017 - No. 23 MBB faces Back to Back NCCAA DII National Champions

Today’s Events

• Baylor Men's Basketball, vs Randall (Formerly Hillsdale Baptist), 6:00 PM CT at Fort Hood, Texas, Gametracker, Listen, Watch FSSW+
• UMHB Football, vs. Brockport, 2:00 PM CT, National Semifinals, Crusader Stadium, Watch ESPN3

Baylor Men’s Basketball

No. 23 MBB Hosts Randall at Fort Hood - Baylor University Official Athletic Site, No. 23 Baylor Basketball hosts a game at Fort Hood's Abrams Gym for a third consecutive season when the Bears take on Randall at 6 p.m. CT Saturday. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest-Plus and Fox Sports Go.

No. 23 Bears excited about trip to Fort Hood | Baylor | theeagle.com, Playing at Fort Hood for the third straight year, the Baylor men’s basketball players always look forward to the short trip to thank the soldiers for everything they’ve done.

Big 12 Matchup Highlights Randall Men's Basketball Schedule Release - Randall University, Randall Men's Basketball Head Coach Mark Berokoff has announced the complete schedule for the 2-time defending National Champion Saints.

"Every year we strive to build the toughest schedule possible in order to prepare our guys for the postseason. We believe that this year is the toughest schedule we have ever put together, and can't wait to see how our guys respond to it."

The toughness of that schedule includes perennial Big 12 power Baylor University on December 9th. Baylor finished the year last season ranked 12th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Bears were a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, making it to the Sweet 16 before falling to last years "Cinderella" team, 7 seed South Carolina.

The Saints will meet the Bears at Ford Hood, Texas, in Abrams Gym; where tickets are free for military members and their families.

Randall Men's Basketball Wins 2016-2017 National Championship - Randall University, A year after winning its first ever NCCAA DII National Championship, Randall University Men's Basketball completed its journey to back-to-back titles with a 90-76 win over Kentucky Christian.

The Saints have won back-to-back National Championships for the first time, and have been in the last 3 National Championship Games. Randall loses Senior starter Anthony Williams, Senior Captain Ryan Hickerson, and Senior reserve Derrick Allen, but returns the majority of their minutes for the 2017-2018 season.

Hillsdale Baptist-Baylor Preview, TheAssociatedPress, Earlier this week, No. 23 Bears got back on its feet after dropping a couple of non-conference games against tough competition and losing an important bench player to injury.

Baylor posted a 28-point victory over Sam Houston State on Monday night, bouncing back from losses at then-No. 21 Xavier and at home against then-No. 8 Wichita State.

The next opportunity for Baylor to settle into its new lineup comes Saturday when it hosts a home game in Fort Hood, Texas, and faces Randall University of the National Christian College Athletic Association. Randall, located in Moore, Okla., is 4-9 with a notable 116-113 overtime victory against Oklahoma City University on Nov. 29.

"This game (at Fort Hood) has always been about us and making sure we play with effort, passion, energy and give the fans a lot of things to be excited about from a standpoint this game is really for them," Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew said. "As far as Randall goes, any time you're playing a non-Division I, the biggest difference is the size and normally teams like that tend to shoot a lot of threes. So you want to extend and make sure you take away the three, and that's a great equalizer in college basketball."

Baylor Legends

Royce O'Neale muscles way into Jazz lineup with toughness, grit - The Salt Lake Tribune, Royce O’Neale isn’t supposed to be a rotation guy for the Utah Jazz. He’s not even supposed to be in the NBA.

Making the best league in the world and thriving is usually reserved for those on a specific path. The player becomes a superstar in high school and on the AAU circuit before sifting through hundreds of college offers. Then it’s on to success at the collegiate level. Next comes the draft, where the player shakes hands with commissioner Adam Silver before joining an NBA team.

None of that happened with O’Neale. The door didn’t open for him. So he had to kick it open.

“It’s been a long road,” he said.

Baylor Football

Baylor recruiting: Bears in close competition for elite prospects, AtlantaJournal, Baylor coach Matt Rhule is putting together one of the best classes in the football program’s...

Scholar Athletes

SOC's Akanyirige Named Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year - Baylor University Official Athletic Site, WACO, Texas – Baylor soccer senior defender Precious Akanyirige was named the Big 12’s Soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year, announced Friday by the conference office.

Cross Countrys Bradley Named Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Baylor University Official Athletic Site, Baylor junior Lindsey Bradley is the 2017 Big 12 Women’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year, announced by the conference office Friday afternoon.

UMHB Football

Top-ranked UMHB 1 game away from another title shot | Sports | wacotrib.com, It’s familiar territory, but a tough task nonetheless.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor is on the verge of yet another trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship — and it’s against yet another first-time opponent. The Crusaders face The College of Brockport Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Crusader Stadium after beating No. 4 St. Thomas last weekend in a first-time meeting for both schools.

Brockport Golden Eagles - Brockport Football: Final Four Preview, The College at Brockport football team is one of four teams remaining in the NCAA Championship Playoffs, and will play this week for a chance to participate in the 2017 Stagg Bowl.

This is the first time in program history that the Golden Eagles have advanced to the semifinals, as their best finish before this season ended with a loss in the Elite 8 in 2002. It took some late game heroics last Saturday, as the team used a last second 33-yard field goal from Brett Renzi to come away with the 31-28 victory.

The Brockport record for wins in a season before this year was 10, so the 13 wins this year smashed that mark. The 2017 Golden Eagles have re-written the record book in nearly every category, breaking the rushing yardage, passing yardage, total offense, and scoring records.

Football to host Brockport in NCAA Semifinals - UMHB Athletics, For the third time in the last five years, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team will play host to an NCAA Division III National Championships Semifinal Game with the Cru earning another home game this Saturday.

UMHB will host the Brockport Golden Eagles for a 2:30 PM Central Time kickoff with a berth in Stagg Bowl XLV.

Saturday's Semifinal game will be broadcast on K Rock 101.7 FM with the pre-game show starting at 2:00 PM on Saturday. ESPN3 will carry live video of the game and the contest will also be available on the Watch ESPN App. UMHB will provide live statistics through ncaa.com with a link available on the Cru Athletic Department website at cruathletics.com as soon as the link becomes available.

Tickets for Saturday's playoff game will go on sale to previous season ticket holders on Tuesday, December 5th. Ticket sales to previous ticket holders will remain open through Wednesday before going on sale to the general public on Thursday, December 7th. The ticket windows at Crusader Stadium will be open from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM each day from Tuesday through Friday. Online ticket sales will open on Thursday. Advance tickets are $10 for reserved seats, $8 for general admission and $4 for students. On Saturday, reserved seats will cost $12, general admission will be $10 and student tickets are $4. The ticket windows will open at 12:30 PM on Saturday. Brockport fans are encouraged to call the UMHB ticket office at (254) 295-4455 beginning Thursday to secure tickets in advance. There will also be reserved tickets available in the Brockport section when the ticket windows open on Saturday.

Football to face Brockport in NCAA Semifinal showdown - UMHB Athletics, The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team will face another first-time opponent when the Cru welcomes The College at Brockport to Crusader Stadium for an NCAA Semifinal showdown this Saturday.

UMHB will face the Golden Eagles in a 2:30 PM kickoff with a trip to the National Championship Game on the line.

UMHB advanced with a 24-10 win over #4 St. Thomas last Saturday and the Cru will be playing the 50th postseason game in program history this weekend.

For more information on parking, traffic flow and game day events, please visit the following link: http://www.umhb.edu/stadium/directions-and-parking. Brockport fans are encouraged to enter the stadium through ticket window #3 at the southeast corner of Crusader Stadium. The winner of Saturday's game will advance to face the Mount Union/Wisconsin-Oshkosh winner in Stagg Bowl XLV.

Saturday's game will also be broadcast live on KRock101.7 FM and through the station's web site with the pre-game show starting at 11:30 AM. The game will stream live on ESPN3 and will also be available on the Watch ESPN app. UMHB will provide live statistics for the game with the link available on www.cruathletics.com.

Tickets are still available and the ticket windows are scheduled to open at 10:00 AM on Saturday. Reserved tickets are $12 at the gate, general admission tickets are $10 and student tickets will be $4 at the gate. The stadium gates will open at 10:30 AM on Saturday. Tickets left at Will Call will be available for pickup at any ticket window on game day.

Acrobatics and Tumbling

OBF Quote: If you don’t follow the perennial National Champion Baylor Acrobatics and Tumbling you’re missing out on this:

Anti Sexual Assault (#MeToo) Movement and Scandal Fallout

Baylor and its brave survivors offer important lessons for #MeToo movement | Editorials | Dallas News, Men long entrenched in power are now ensnared in an astonishing moment of U.S. history that is calling out perpetrators of sexual assault and...

Ex-Baylor regent disparaged female students as 'tarts' - NY Daily News, The former regent wrote the damning remarks to a colleague after stumbling upon a photo of boozing women he deemed scandalous.

WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD: TITLE IX EXPERTS WHO INVESTIGATED BAYLOR VERIFY COMPLETION OF 105 RECOMMENDATIONS, Faculty & Staff | Baylor University, Title IX experts who conducted the nine-month investigation into how Baylor University responded to sexual violence reports have given their stamp of approval on the school’s ongoing corrective actions that started taking shape last year.

A 755-page report released Friday marks the second time a group outside Baylor has verified the school’s efforts to correct institution wide Title IX failures. Baylor’s accrediting agency, which placed the school on “warning status,” has also checked off the completion of 105 recommendations attorneys Gina Maisto Smith and Leslie Gomez handed Baylor in May of last year.

External Report re: Completion of 105 Recommendations, Cozen O'Connor, In August 2015, Baylor University commissioned Gina Maisto Smith and Leslie Gomez to conduct an independent and external review of Baylor University’s institutional response to Title IX and related compliance issues through the lens of specific cases.

A Special Committee of the Board of Regents, on behalf of the University, accepted the President’s recommendation to engage outside counsel in order to ensure that the review was objective and conducted by professionals with appropriate subject matter expertise. Baylor provided us, as external investigators, with unfettered access to University personnel and data. The review was detailed, thorough and rigorous.

While keeping within the scope of the engagement, we engaged in an open exploration of the issues with no limitation by the University.

On June 30, 2016, Baylor University expanded the terms of our engagement to include the following tasks: (1) review of cases between 2011 and 2015 to address the restorative and ongoing needs of complainants in these cases and determine pattern, trends and climate; (2) development of a new Title IX policy; (3) review and revision of protocols, systems and templates used in the Title IX Office to ensure consistency with the new Title IX policy; (4) assistance in facilitating the development of memoranda of understanding with community partners and law enforcement agencies; and (5) ongoing advice and consulting regarding the implementation of Title IX and the Clery Act, as amended by the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. In keeping with this engagement, we have been assisting Baylor in the informed implementation of the 105 Recommendations.

As part of the extended engagement, in a sincere effort to make sure the 105 Recommendations were implemented, and in response to reviews by the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR), DOE’s Clery Compliance Division, the Texas Rangers, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the Big XII Conference, Baylor asked us to evaluate the status of completion of the implementation of the 105 Recommendations and to issue a public report of our assessment of Baylor’s efforts.

In preparing this report, we relied on our on-the-ground work, interviews with stakeholders and thousands of documents detailing Baylor’s implementation of the recommendations. This report represents our best efforts, to date, to capture and articulate the actions taken by Baylor. We sought to capture as many actions, programs, and initiatives as possible in this report, but recognize that the University’s efforts extend beyond the voluminous efforts detailed in this report. This review is necessarily a snapshot of a moment in time, as Baylor’s efforts are ongoing.

We find that the University has effectively implemented the 105 Recommendations.

From all walks of the University community – students, faculty, staff, senior leadership, the President, and the Board of Regents – we have seen tremendous effort and engagement that has met or exceeded the tasks set forth in the recommendations. We note and the University recognizes that implementation is an ongoing task for many of these recommendations. To that end, we find that the University has invested time, energy, resources, personnel, policy, procedures and systems that will continue to support and enhance the ongoing implementation efforts.

Our conclusion that Baylor has completed the 105 Recommendations does not negate our prior findings, nor can the steps taken by Baylor retroactively ameliorate past wrongs. Our hope is that moving forward, Baylor’s efforts can continue to proactively, continuously and effectively prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based harassment and violence in a manner consistent with Baylor’s institutional values, mission and commitment to maintaining a campus free from discrimination and harassment.

Continue reading 755 page report ...

Baylor Title IX coordinator resigns, KWTX, Baylor’s Title IX coordinator is resigning after a little more than a year on the job.

Maureen Holland, a consulting member of the international legal firm Cozen O'Connor, is serving as the University's Interim Title IX coordinator until a replacement is found, the school said.

Holland was formerly a member of the Pepper Hamilton law firm, whose review of the school's handling of sexual assaults involving athletes led to the reassignment of Chancellor and President Ken Starr, the termination of football coach Art Briles and the suspension of athletic director Ian McCaw.

Title IX, which is part of a more than 40-year-old law aimed at ensuring equal rights for those participating in educational programs that receive federal financial assistance, applies to all facets of a school's environment.

It has been interpreted to mean that sexual harassment of students including sexual violence interferes with the right to receive an education free from discrimination, and requires schools to take immediate action to end harassment and sexual violence.