Beautiful Floyd Casey Stadium is home to the Baylor Bears football team. The stadium is continually upgraded to give Baylor a facility necessary to be competitive in the Big 12 Conference.
Stadium renovations have been constant recently at Floyd Casey. In 2002, Baylor added a 23-by-31-foot LED video screen going in the south end zone. The project included the addition of a state-of-the-art sound system and new digital scoreboards in both end zones.
Finishing touches on Grant Teaff Plaza also came last fall with a statue honoring the Bears' long-time head coach. The plaza opened in 2001 and is located at the base of the press box.
Baylor's locker room got a face lift in 2001, when a $2 million facility, the largest in the Big 12, was completed.
Baylor added a state-of-the-art luxury suite and pressbox structure on the West side in 1999.
In 1998, the a new playing surface was installed. SportGrass, the world's finest natural grass, was added. The team meeting room area also underwent a complete remodeling.
In 1995 the entire faŤade was sandblasted and painted. In 1990, new lights, expanded and improved restrooms, and new concession stands were completed.
The Carl and Thelma Casey Athletic Center now houses departmental offices, locker rooms, training rooms, weight facilities, a video studio, and meeting facilities.
The state-of-the-art facility was opened in 1991. Other renovation projects continue as the stadium enters its 51st year of service to Baylor.
After 39 years of being called Baylor Stadium, 1989 was the stadium's first full year under the name Floyd Casey Stadium.
The name change officially took place during halftime ceremonies of the 1988 Homecoming game with Arkansas when it was announced that longtime University supporter and trustee the late Carl B. Casey of Dallas and his wife, Thelma, contributed $5 million to the stadium renovation project in honor of his father Floyd Casey.
The generous Casey donation was part of an $8 million campaign.
After World War II the Baylor Stadium Corporation was formed and began a campaign to build a stadium for the University. The corporation launched a bond sales program and was able to raise $1.5 million for construction costs. The Bears moved to Baylor Stadium in 1950.
The first game played in the 50,000-seat stadium was September 30, 1950, a 34-7 Baylor victory over the Houston Cougars, then, an independent team. The initial Southwest Conference game was November 4, 1950, a 27-20 win over Texas A&M. The largest crowd to see at home was the 1995 A&M game when 51,218 fans jammed the stadium to watch the Aggies top the Bears 24-9.
Many improvements and additions have been made to the stadium over the years.
From 1972 to 1997, the Bears played on an AstroTurf surface at Floyd Stadium.
During the 1970s, the beautiful and comfortable Letterman's Lounge was built on the stadium's west side with funds provided by former athletes. That facility received a facelift in 1995.
An eight-year project to change from worn wooden to modern aluminum bleacher was finished in 1981.
Prior to the building of Baylor Stadium in 1950, several playing sites were employed by the Bears. The first Bear football squad was formed in 1899, but no records are available to prove where the team played. Old newspaper clippings and yearbook articles only indicate the first three seasons were played on an extremely rough field close to the school.
From 1902 to 1925, with the exception of 1906 when football was banned on campus because it was deemed too violent, the Bears played most of their games at Carroll Field, an on-campus facility. An unknown number of games were played at the old Cotton Palace during this period.
The Bears played at the Cotton Palace from 1926-29 before returning to Carroll Field from 1930-35. The team moved off the main campus for good in 1936 when it began calling the newly built Waco Stadium home. Waco Stadium was renamed Municipal Stadium in 1942, and it was where BU played through 1949 except for a break from 1943-44 because of the war effort.
Source: Baylor University Sports Information Office
