The 2016 Baylor Bears football team represented

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

in the

2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016 and ended on Dec ...

. The Bears were coached by interim head coach

Jim Grobe Jim Britt Grobe (born February 17, 1952) is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the defensive coordinator of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football. His previous position to that was as head ...

in their 118th football season. This was the team's third season in

McLane Stadium McLane Stadium is an American football stadium in Waco, Texas owned and operated by Baylor University. Originally named "Baylor Stadium", the facility's name was changed to "McLane Stadium" in December 2013 to honor Baylor alumnus and business ma ...

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

. The Bears were members of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

. They finished the season 7–6, 3–6 in Big 12 play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. They were invited to

Cactus Bowl The Guaranteed Rate Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989. Played as the Copper Bowl from inception through 1996, it was known as the Insight.com Bowl from 1997 through 2001, then ...

where they defeated

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

Recruiting

National Signing Day was on February 3, 2016.

Scandal

In September 2015, following the conviction of former players Sam Ukwuachu and Tevin Elliott of sexual assault, along with allegations against other players, the school commissioned law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP to conduct an independent external investigation regarding the university's handling of sexual violence. In April 2016, former player

Shawn Oakman Shawn Michael Oakman (born April 7, 1992) is a Canadian football defensive end for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Baylor Bears. Oakman has been a member of the Triangle Torch and ...

was arrested on sexual assault charges as well. Head coach Art Briles was terminated on May 26, 2016 following the presentation of Pepper Hamilton's report. University President

Ken Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who authored the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, kno ...

and Athletic Director Ian McCaw also resigned. Former Wake Forest head coach

was hired on an interim basis. Following the threat of a lawsuit by Briles for wrongful termination, Baylor provided an out of court settlement. Briles and Baylor are co-defendants in a lawsuit filed by a woman allegedly sexually assaulted by a football player. After Briles' departure, many players announced their intention to transfer including

Jarrett Stidham Jarrett Ryan Stidham (born August 8, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). After transferring from Baylor, he played college football at Auburn and was selected by the New Engl ...

. Seven members of the 2016 recruiting class requested to be released from their

National Letter of Intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, and six of the then-seven commits in the 2017 recruiting class decommitted.

Schedule

:Schedule Source:

Rankings

Game summaries

Northwestern State

SMU

at Rice

Oklahoma State

at Iowa State

Kansas

at Texas

TCU

at Oklahoma

Kansas State

vs. Texas Tech

at West Virginia

Boise State–Cactus Bowl

References

{{Baylor Bears football navbox Baylor Baylor Bears football seasons Guaranteed Rate Bowl champion seasons

Baylor Bears football The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. After 64 seasons at the off-campus Baylor Stadium, renamed Floyd Casey Stadium in 1989, the Bears opened ...