Posted by: Pete Roussel on July 24, 2012

Art Briles thinks the new stadium at Baylor, which is expected to open in 2014, will change the whole image of Baylor University.

During Big 12 Media Day on Tuesday morning, Briles stated, "I'm not kidding you. It's going to change the whole image of Baylor, I mean, to people that never really considered Baylor from now on, the next 50 years."

"There's 42 million people that drive down I‑35 beginning 2014 that are going to see this beautiful stadium which is going to be one of the most beautiful stadiums in the United States of America on the Brazos River, and they're going to look over and say, okay, those people at Baylor are doing it right, because it's going to be unmatched in beauty."

He continued, "And what it's going to do for us from an image standpoint, recruiting standpoint, both academically and athletically for people that want to get into Baylor University, I'm not smart enough to articulate how much difference it's going to make for our university."

Briles talked about the recent success of the program, and even added a recruiting pitch to any legitimate players in the Houston area.

Briles said, "No, I mean, really one of the toughest things I had to do when I was coaching at the University of Houston for five years is to get the players to stay in Houston.  Great football players.  I think it's the most heavily recruited city in the United States of America. But it's hard to get those guys to stay home, because when you were 17 1/2 years old, 18 years old, I mean, you were thinking, boy, if I could only live next door to mommy and daddy, you know what I'm saying?"

"So, no, those guys want to get away.  And Waco is a perfect location because it's an hour and a half away.  It's far enough away but it's close enough that they can come see them, they can enjoy them at the same time."

Briles' comments should make Tony Levine's press conference quite interesting tomorrow at C-USA Media Day in Dallas.  Let's see if Levine directly or indirectly reacts to Briles' comments.

In case you haven't seen the video of what Baylor's new stadium will look like, check it out:

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