The Baylor–TCU football rivalry, known as The Bluebonnet Battle[2][3][4] and informally as The Revivalry,[5] is an American college footballrivalry between the Baylor Bears and TCU Horned Frogs. The first game of the 120-game series was played in 1899, making the rivalry one of the oldest and most played in FBS college football. After 120 meetings, the series is the most-played college rivalry in the State of Texas.
History
Baylor was chartered in 1845 by The Republic of Texas and founded as a Baptist institution in the same year with its original location in Independence, Texas. Baylor permanently moved to Waco forty years later, in 1885.[6] TCU was founded in 1873 as AddRan Male and Female College by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark, in Thorp Springs, Texas, and was later renamed AddRan Christian University and relocated to Waco in 1895.[7] AddRan was renamed Texas Christian University in 1902 and finally relocated to Fort Worth in 1910 after a fire destroyed the school's main administration building in Waco.
First contested in 1899, and having been played 119 times, the rivalry is one of the oldest and most-played series in college football history. The two schools, which were once both located in Waco, Texas, are separated by only 90 miles.[8]
Between 1899 and 1910, when both schools were located in Waco, the Bears and Horned Frogs frequently faced off multiple times per season. In the early years of the rivalry, TCU and Baylor did not play as conference foes. Like most schools of that era, Baylor was independent until becoming a founding member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) in 1915. TCU subsequently joined the SWC in 1923, after competing as an independent (1896–1913 and 1921–22). After TCU joined, Baylor and TCU played 69 times as SWC foes, until the SWC disbanded in 1995. After a 10-year hiatus, the universities renewed the rivalry in a non-conference series in 2006–2007 and 2010–2011. During this series, TCU competed in the Mountain West Conference. TCU joined Baylor in the Big 12 Conference in 2012, and the rivalry game is now played annually as part of the teams' regular season conference schedules.[8]
Rivalry name and trophy
On November 13, 2023, in a press conference with TCU and Baylor student government representatives, head coaches, and athletic directors, the two universities formally announced the name of the rivalry would be "The Bluebonnet Battle."[2] The name was the product of a joint student effort between the Baylor and TCU student governments. The name was the product of an effort between the two schools' student bodies and replaced existing unofficial names for the game,[2] despite "The Revivalry" being used by Baylor University in November 2022.[9] The new name was selected to reflect the series becoming the most-played between two teams in the State of Texas in 2023.[8] The flower, which is also the state flower of Texas, lines Interstate-35 for parts of the year connecting both schools' campuses.[2]
Close games and shutouts
Football games between Baylor and TCU have been decided by 7 points or less 45 times, including 7 ties.[8]
Several of the Bears and Horned Frogs' meetings since the rivalry's annual renewal in 2010 have featured memorable, close contests. In 2011, Baylor notched a season-opening 50–48 win, with Robert Griffin III, leading a fourth-quarter Baylor drive to set up Aaron Jones' game-winning field goal over the Horned Frogs. In 2014, Baylor came back from a 21-point, fourth quarter deficit by scoring 24 unanswered points to win the game 61–58 with a last second Chris Callahan FG. The outcome of the 2014 matchup and TCU's fourth-quarter collapse was critical in knocking TCU out of the inaugural College Football Playoff; both Baylor and TCU would go on to compile 11–1 (8–1 Big 12) regular season records and ultimately neither team got a Playoff spot as the committee chose 12-1 (and eventual national champion) Ohio State instead. Many have speculated that neither team was chosen because they were co-champions and the Big 12 did not have an actual conference championship at the time (the Big 12 title was awarded to the team with the best conference record). In 2015, the rivalry game was played on Thanksgiving Friday night in Fort Worth, with temperatures in the 30s and pouring rain. After a lightning-delayed start, the high-power spread offenses managed only 14 points apiece in regulation, with TCU securing a 28–21 second-overtime victory with a fourth down stop. In 2019, Baylor outlasted TCU in triple overtime to remain unbeaten. In 2022, undefeated 10–0 TCU won a hard-fought game, 29–28, by lining up to kick a walk-off 40 yard field goal on a running clock.[10]
Other events
In 1971, TCU coach Jim Pittman collapsed and died on the sideline in Waco during the rivalry game, the only time in collegiate history that a coach died during a game.[11][12]
