A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Baylor Bears | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| University | Baylor University | |||
| Head coach | Nicki Collen (3rd season) | |||
| Conference | Big 12 Conference | |||
| Location | Waco, Texas | |||
| Arena | Foster Pavilion (Capacity: 7,500) | |||
| Nickname | Bears | |||
| Colors | Green and gold[1] | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
| ||||
| NCAA tournament champions | ||||
| 2005, 2012, 2019 | ||||
| NCAA tournament Final Four | ||||
| 2005, 2010, 2012, 2019 | ||||
| NCAA tournament Elite Eight | ||||
| 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 | ||||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 | ||||
| NCAA tournament appearances | ||||
| 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 | ||||
| AIAW tournament Elite Eight | ||||
| 1976, 1977 | ||||
| AIAW tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 1976, 1977 | ||||
| AIAW tournament appearances | ||||
| 1976, 1977 | ||||
| Conference tournament champions | ||||
| 2005, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 | ||||
| Conference regular season champions | ||||
| 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 | ||||
The Baylor Bears women's basketball team represents Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games in the Foster Pavilion. Before the 2021–22 season, the team had been known as the "Lady Bears", but on September 3, 2021, the school officially announced that women's basketball had dropped "Lady" from its nickname. At the same time, soccer and volleyball, the other two Baylor women's teams that were still using "Lady" in their nicknames, also abandoned that usage.[2][3]
The then-Lady Bears went undefeated at 40–0 to become the 2012 NCAA Division I National Champions in Women's College Basketball.
History
Olga Fallen years (1974–1979)
Olga joined the faculty of Baylor University in 1956 and served as an assistant professor of physical education through 1997. She developed Baylor's women's athletic program from its beginning within the physical education department in 1959 and from 1972 to 1979, served as the coordinator of women's athletics. She was inducted into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. Under her coaching the softball team, advanced to the AIAW regional tournament in 1978 and 1979. The Bearette basketball team posted a five-year record of 143–50 and earned two consecutive bids to the national AIAW tournament in 1976 and 1977, rated fifth and seventh in the nation those years.
Pam Bowers years (1979–1994)
Sonja Hogg years (1994–2000)
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor Lady Bears (Southwest Conference) (1994–1996) | |||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Baylor | 13–14 | 4–10 | 7th | |||||
| 1995–1996 | Baylor | 11–19 | 3–11 | 7th | |||||
| Baylor Lady Bears (Big 12 Conference) (1996–2000) | |||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Baylor | 15–13 | 7–9 | T-8th | |||||
| 1997–1998 | Baylor | 20–11 | 10–6 | T–5th | WNIT Finals | ||||
| 1998–1999 | Baylor | 17–14 | 8–8 | T-5th | WNIT | ||||
| 1999–2000 | Baylor | 7–20 | 2–14 | 12th | |||||
| Baylor: | 83–91 (.477) | 34–58 (.370) | |||||||
| Total: | 83–91 (.477) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Source:[4]
Kim Mulkey years (2000–2021)
In 2000, Kim Mulkey took over a Baylor program that had finished the 1999–2000 season 7–20 and last in the Big 12 Conference. In her first season at Baylor, she turned the Lady Bears program around, leading the team to its first NCAA tournament bid. The Lady Bears have now (as of 2019) put together 19 consecutive 20-win seasons and only once has the team lost more than 10 games in a season. The rise of the Baylor program under Mulkey was capped off in 2005 with a national title. This made her the fourth person to have won NCAA Division I basketball titles as a player and a head coach (after Joe B. Hall, Bob Knight and Dean Smith) and the first woman to do so. The Lady Bears also captured the 2012 title with an undefeated season and the 2019 title. Mulkey departed the program for LSU in 2021.[5]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor Lady Bears (Big 12 Conference) (2000–present) | |||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Baylor | 21–9 | 9–7 | 6th | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2001–2002 | Baylor | 27–6 | 12–4 | 2nd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2002–2003 | Baylor | 24–11 | 8–8 | 7th | WNIT Runner-up | ||||
| 2003–2004 | Baylor | 26–9 | 10–6 | T–4th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2004–2005 | Baylor | 33–3 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Champions | ||||
| 2005–2006 | Baylor | 26–7 | 12–4 | 2nd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2006–2007 | Baylor | 26–8 | 11–5 | 3rd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2007–2008 | Baylor | 25–7 | 12–4 | 2nd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2008–2009 | Baylor | 29–6 | 12–4 | 2nd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2009–2010 | Baylor | 27–10 | 9–7 | 6th | NCAA Final Four | ||||
| 2010–2011 | Baylor | 34–3 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| 2011–2012 | Baylor | 40–0 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Champions | ||||
| 2012–2013 | Baylor | 34–2 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2013–2014 | Baylor | 32–5 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| 2014–2015 | Baylor | 33–4 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| 2015–2016 | Baylor | 36–2 | 17–1 | 1st | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| 2016–2017 | Baylor | 33–4 | 17–1 | 1st | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| 2017–2018 | Baylor | 33–2 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2018–2019 | Baylor | 37–1 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Champions | ||||
| 2019–2020 | Baylor | 28–2 | 17–1 | 1st | tournament canceled[6] | ||||
| 2020–2021 | Baylor | 28–3 | 17–1 | 1st | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| Baylor: | 632–104 (.859) | 296–60 (.831) | |||||||
| Total: | 632–104 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Nicki Collen era (2021–present)
Nicki Collen, previously 2018 WNBA Coach of the Year WNBA's Atlanta Dream, replaced Mulkey as head coach after the latter's departure for LSU.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor Bears (Big 12 Conference) (2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | Baylor | 28–7 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2022–23 | Baylor | 20–13 | 10–8 | T–4th | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2023–24 | Baylor | 26–8 | 12–6 | T-4th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| Baylor: | 74–28 (.753) | 37–17 (.711) | |||||||
| Total: | 74–28 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
National Championships
| Year | Coach | Opponent | Score | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Kim Mulkey | Michigan St. Spartans | 84–62 | 33–3 |
| 2012 | Kim Mulkey | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 80–61 | 40–0 |
| 2019 | Kim Mulkey | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 82–81 | 37–1 |
| National Championships | 3 | |||