In an unassuming area nestled inside Baylor’s weight room sits the university’s Department of Athletic Performance, which attempts to balance the football program’s strength training with equipment and data-collection tools rooted in a more scientific approach.
Players run, lift weights and exercise, as at every other school in the Football Bowl Subdivision, only with gear meant to augment more traditional methods. One tool, called Omegawave, allows the Bears’ staff to track a player’s heart rate and general athletic readiness. Players practice with a GPS monitor placed between their shoulder blades, with the goal of tracing the total distance traveled, and at what velocity.