With the start of the College Football Playoff looming, most football programs are looking to beef up their non-conference slates in anticipation of the new system relying, at least in part, on strength of schedule. Baylor, on the other hand, has decided to cake up its future schedules.
The University of the Incarnate Word announced Monday that it has scheduled a 2019 game against the Bears in Waco. The game will be played Aug. 31 in McLane Stadium, which is currently under construction.
UIW founded its football program in 2007 and played at the Div. II level before moving up to the FCS in 2013.
“Playing Baylor in football is just another exciting step in the growth and expansion of the UIW Brand,” UIW athletic director Mark Papich said in a statement. “We have always maintained that the move to NCAA Division I would be in line with the goals we strive for spiritually and academically. We want our student-athletes to reach for something more, to be challenged on a daily basis and to leave UIW stronger in their faith and knowledge with a sense of accomplishment for accepting those challenges.”
UIW joins UT-San Antonio and Rice as non-conference 2019 opponents. Between 2014 and 2019, Baylor has just two non-conference games scheduled against programs from the five power conferences: a home-and-home with Duke in 2017 and 2018.
(Tip O’ the Cap: FBSchedules.com)