Houston, TX

At least one Baylor Bear has played in the NFL every year for the last 90 years. You have to go all the way back to 1936 to find the last time an entire NFL season was played without a Baylor Bear.

This year, there are 15 Bears in the league to start the season: nine on active rosters, one on the injured list, and five more on practice squads. Here are the Bears we’ll be cheering on Sundays:

When he was an English major at Baylor, classmates knew the man who would go on to become one of radio’s most prolific interviewers and storytellers as Bob Lewis (BA ’57) — but to generations of Texans, he’s known only by his radio stage name: Tumbleweed Smith.

For 57 years (!!) — until his retirement earlier this year — Bob/Tumbleweed was the host of The Sound of Texas, a program airing on stations across the state. It featured interviews with everyone from movie stars to everyday Texans, and chronicled the depth and breadth of life in Texas. The Baylor alum (and native Wacoan) served as a conduit for unique Texas stories through interviews, as well as his own unique storytelling ability.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and Baylor University have a partnership rooted in service and scholarship. 

Cheering on our Bears in the NFL is second nature to Baylor fans — from legends like Mike Singletary (BBA ’83) to current stars such as Jalen Pitre (BBA ’20, MSED ’21), there’s no shortage of Baylor alums who have made us proud at the next level.

But it’s not just on the field; all across the NFL, Baylor Bears can be found in front offices and training rooms, discovering talent on the scouting trail and generating revenue in tickets and sales.