Baylor student newspaper celebrates its 115th anniversary

The year was 1900. Baylor was just 55 years old; even its earliest graduates were still around to visit their alma mater. The university was still relatively new to Waco, and newer still to the increasingly popular sport of “foot ball.”

As the university grew, students, faculty and alumni wanted reliable campus news. Thus, on Nov. 8, 1900, The Varsity Lariat was born. [You can read that first issue in its entirety here.]

Replacing The Baylor Weekly Leaf, whose editor is credited with “taking the initiative” of reporting Baylor news, the Lariat was at its outset dedicated to being “a true index of the life and progress of Baylor.” The very first issue included much of the content you’ll still find in today’s paper: results from a recent football game (an 11-0 Baylor win over Austin College), information on student organizations (including Glee Club and Orchestra), and advertisements for Waco businesses (men’s suits at Sanger Bros. started at just $12.50).

The dedication and initiative of the paper’s founding staff has carried on over the years. Six times in the last eight years (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014), The Baylor Lariat has been named the best student newspaper in Texas by the Houston Press Club, and in 2010, the Associated Press Managing Editors of Texas named the Lariat the Collegiate Newspaper of the Year. “Where other student newspapers rely heavily — too heavily — on covering the latest speakers on campus and the latest pronouncements from the administration, this fine [Lariat] staff goes after real news with gusto,” said the Houston Press Club in 2008.

Sic ’em, Lariat!