Baylor Stadium [Photograph]
Name/Title
Baylor Stadium [Photograph]Description
A 1952 photograph of Baylor Stadium, located about four miles from Baylor on South Valley Mills Drive, was opened in 1950 with a Baylor Game against the Houston Cougars. It cost $1.8 million to build, and sat 50,000 people.Context
Baylor Stadium served as a source of publicity for Baylor. At its very inception, the Baylor Stadium drew attention from across the state. By 1955, it became apparent that technology and football media coverage was advancing beyond what the Baylor Stadium facilities could accommodate. As of 1955, Baylor was the only remaining college in the Southwestern Conference without stadium lighting. At that time, regional TV stations covered a single college football game each week, and so all games took place at the same time during the day. However, the Big Ten and Pacific Coast Conferences began to lobby for broader coverage of multiple football games throughout the weekend. Lights in football stadiums allowed for a larger time frame in which games could take place. This increased the window for TV broadcast. Installing lights to Baylor Stadium would open up possible broadcasting slots for Baylor games. Baylor would be placed in an advantageous position if they were able to switch their home games from day to night or vice-versa in order to avoid television competition. Lights would also entice northern teams who might otherwise be put off by the heat of a Texas day game.Category
Pop Culture
Being Texas, Bullock Museum