Baylor football, basketball, baseball set NCAA record for combined wins

Last summer, when it looked like the Big 12 Conference was about to fall apart and Baylor would be left scrambling for a new league, pundits across the nation said BU didn’t belong in a major conference. One year later, their songs have changed, thanks to Añodeloso — the Year of the Bear.

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Let’s put some numbers on the Year of the Bear… When you add up the 2011-12 records for Baylor football (10-3), men’s basketball (30-8) and women’s basketball (40-0), you get a combined mark of 80-11. Those 80 total wins are a new NCAA D-1 record; here are the top five:

Year School FB MBB WBB Total wins Combined record 2011-12 BAYLOR 10 30 40 80 80-11 (.879) 2008-09 UConn 8 31 39 78 78-10 (.886) 2007-08 Tennessee 10 31 36 77 77-11 (.875) 2010-11 UConn 8 32 36 76 76-16 (.826) 2006-07 Ohio St. 12 35 28 75 75-9 (.893)

But let’s take it even further. Baylor baseball’s win Friday over Kansas State improved the Big 12 champion Bears’ record to 44-13. Combine that mark with football and hoops for a “Big Four” total, and you get a record of 124-24 — setting a NCAA D-1 record for combined wins across those four sports.

Year School FB MBB WBB BB Total wins Combined record 2011-12 BAYLOR 10 30 40 44 124 124-24 (.838) 2003-04 Texas 10 25 30 58 123 123-31 (.799) 1984-85 Oklahoma 9 31 23 55 118 118-29 (.803) 2008-09 Oklahoma 12 30 32 43 117 117-33 (.780) 2002-03 Texas 11 26 29 50 116 116-35 (.768)

With baseball ranked No. 6 in the country and only just entering the postseason, Baylor should be able to tack a few more victories onto that total before all is said and done. Add on Robert Griffin III’s Heisman and Brittney Griner’s consensus national player of the year honors — a combination only recorded one other time in the last 50-plus years — and this has truly been a year to remember.

[Read more about the Year of the Bear at BaylorBears.com.]

Baylor is expected to be named one of 16 host sites when NCAA baseball regional locations are announced Sunday (and tickets are available now); the full 64-team bracket will be revealed Monday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU.

Sic ’em, Baylor athletics!