Upcoming Baylor Bears Football dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Baylor football in brief: a Southwest Conference original in the Big 12
Baylor plays its home games at McLane Stadium, a riverfront stadium on the north bank of the Brazos River in Waco, Texas, and the regular season runs from late August or early September through late November. The program fielded its first team in 1899, played in the Southwest Conference from 1915 until that league dissolved after the 1995 season, and has been a member of the Big 12 since its first season in 1996.
The Bears have won 10 conference titles: seven in the Southwest Conference (1915, 1916, 1922, 1924, 1974, 1980 and 1994) and three in the Big 12 (2013, 2014 and 2021). Quarterback Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy in 2011, the school's only winner, and that season ended with a 67–56 Alamo Bowl win over Washington. The 2021 team won the Big 12 and beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.
The colors are green and gold, the fight song is "Old Fight," and the band is the Golden Wave Band. Through its history the program has a winning all-time record and a .500 bowl record across 28 appearances, according to Wikipedia's compilation of program records. Coaches and rosters change, so check the team's official site for the current staff.
Where to sit at McLane Stadium
McLane Stadium opened on August 31, 2014, with a 45–0 win over SMU, replacing Floyd Casey Stadium, which had been Baylor's home from 1950 through 2013. Populous designed it, it cost about 266 million to build, and its listed capacity is 45,140, with room to expand to 55,000. The record crowd is 50,223, set against Oklahoma on November 16, 2019, so the listed figure and real-world attendance do not always match.
Sideline, end zone and premium seating
Sideline seats between the 30-yard lines give the most complete view of the field, and the middle rows of the lower bowl usually beat the first few rows, where players and sideline staff block the near side. End-zone seats cost less and put you close to scoring plays, but the far end of the field flattens out. The stadium includes 39 suites, 74 loge boxes and about 1,200 outdoor club seats, which carry the highest prices and add covered or climate-controlled space.
The Baylor Line and the student side
About 6,700 seats go to students, including roughly 3,000 for the Baylor Line, the freshman spirit group. After the pregame run, Line members stand in a dedicated section behind the opponent's bench. If you want a quieter afternoon, or if you are rooting for the visitors, avoid the sections next to the Line; if you want noise, sit as close to it as you can.
Heat and sun
Waco is hot in early September, and day games in the first month of the season can be punishing in seats that face the afternoon sun. Upper rows and seats under overhangs offer more relief than the lower rows. Check the kickoff time, which is often set only a week or two in advance for television, before choosing a side.
Rivalries and the Baylor games that draw the most demand
Baylor's schedule is built around in-state opponents, and those games usually draw the largest crowds and the strongest resale demand.
- TCU: Baylor's oldest rivalry, played about 120 times with Baylor holding a narrow series lead, and it was given the name Bluebonnet Battle in 2023.
- Texas Tech: played about 80 times with the series nearly even, a Big 12 game with a large traveling crowd from Lubbock.
- Texas: a 113-game series dating to the Southwest Conference; Texas left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2024, so meetings now depend on nonconference scheduling.
- Texas A&M and SMU: historic Southwest Conference rivals; the A&M series stopped after 2011, and SMU appears occasionally as a nonconference opponent.
Beyond the rivals, the biggest demand comes from ranked Big 12 opponents, homecoming, and night games with national television windows. Early nonconference games against smaller programs are the easiest tickets to find.
The Baylor Line, sailgating and Waco on game day
The signature tradition is the Baylor Line run. Before each home game, freshmen in gold jerseys bearing their graduation year and a nickname gather at one end of the stadium and sprint down the field to form a human tunnel for the team. Six runners lead with flags that spell B-A-Y-L-O-R. The Line began as an all-male freshman group and became coed in 1993.
McLane's riverfront site also makes sailgating possible: fans can arrive by boat and tie up in the Baylor Basin cove beside the stadium. Most fans tailgate on land around the stadium and the campus, which sits across the river.
As of the 2025 season, Baylor opens stadium gates three hours before kickoff, and fans with a pass for the BRIC lot (100 Research Parkway) ride buses to McLane on game days. Parking passes and shuttle options change from year to year, so check Baylor's game-day FAQ before you go, along with the current bag policy.
How Baylor football tickets work
Baylor sells season tickets first, with the best sideline locations tied to donations to the athletic department's donor program; priority points built over years of giving decide who gets upgrades. Students receive their own allotment, and the Baylor Line section is reserved for freshmen.
What is left goes on sale as single-game tickets, usually in summer. For lower-demand games, plenty of seats remain through game day. For TCU, Texas Tech, ranked opponents and homecoming, the primary supply often runs out early, and the resale market becomes the main way to get in. Resale prices move with the team's record, the opponent's ranking, the kickoff time and the weather forecast; they often soften in the final day or two for lesser games and climb for marquee ones.
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A short history of Baylor's stadiums and peaks
Baylor played at Carroll Field on campus for most of the years from 1906 to 1935 and at Municipal Stadium from 1936 to 1949 before moving to Floyd Casey Stadium in 1950. Floyd Casey sat several miles from campus; the move to McLane in 2014 put football back beside the university on the river.
The program's modern peak came in the 2010s, when Griffin's Heisman season was followed by Big 12 titles in 2013 and 2014, with quarterback Bryce Petty finishing in the Heisman voting both years. The 2021 Big 12 title and Sugar Bowl win made a third championship in nine seasons.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the Baylor Bears play home football games?
Baylor plays at McLane Stadium on the north bank of the Brazos River in Waco, Texas. It opened in 2014 and has a listed capacity of 45,140.
What is the Baylor Line?
It is Baylor's freshman spirit group. Before each home game its members run the length of the field in gold jerseys to form a tunnel for the team, then stand in a section behind the opponent's bench.
Can you arrive at a Baylor game by boat?
Yes. McLane Stadium sits on the Brazos River, and fans can tie up boats in the Baylor Basin cove beside the stadium, a practice known as sailgating.
When do gates open at McLane Stadium?
As of the 2025 season, gates open three hours before kickoff. Check Baylor's game-day information for the current schedule and bag policy.
Which Baylor home games are hardest to get tickets for?
Games against TCU and Texas Tech, ranked Big 12 opponents, homecoming and prime-time night games usually draw the most demand and sell through the primary supply first.