Baylor, SMU agree to home-and-home series beginning in 2025
Baylor and SMU have agreed to a home-and-home series on the gridiron, the two programs announced on Tuesday afternoon. Separated by 100 miles, the Bears will travel up I-35 to Dallas on Sept. 6, 2025, while a return trip to Waco is set for Sept. 19, 2026.
Now a power conference matchup between a Big 12 and ACC programs, two former Lone Star State rivals will write another chapter in the matchup’s history.
“DALLAS (SMU) – SMU football has added a pair of non-conference matchups with Baylor for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, it was announced on Tuesday,” SMU said in a statement. “The Mustangs will host the Bears on Sept. 6, 2025 at Ford Stadium. SMU will return the trip to Waco, with Baylor hosting on Sept. 19, 2026 at McLane Stadium. The Mustangs and Bears last played in 2016.”
With the addition of SMU, Baylor is set to face 11 power conference opponents during the 2025 and 2026 seasons. A home-and-home series is scheduled against Auburn, with the first game taking place at McLane Stadium.
On the flip side, there will be another in-state rivalry for SMU to worry about during the 2025 season. Potentially the final Iron Skillet matchup for some time against TCU is set to take place in Fort Worth two weeks after hosting Baylor.
Per FB Schedules, the 2026 matchup is the first nonconference game SMU has confirmed as they transition into the ACC.
More on the history between Baylor, SMU
The Baylor-SMU series dates back to 1916, playing every season under World World II began in 1942. A short two-year hiatus ended in 1945 then faced off annually until 1986 due to SMU receiving the death penalty from the NCAA. To that point, the Mustangs had an all-time advantage with a 36-26-7 record.
However, Baylor has dominated the rivalry since the 1990s — with one game occurring in 1989. Thirteen times have Baylor and SMU lined up and all 13 have been won by the Bears to take the 39-36-7 lead all-time. Not many have been close either, will all but two being decided by at least 19 points.
SMU came close to earning a win during a home-and-home series in 2003 and 2005, losing those two by a combined eight points.
Folks in the Park Cities will be hoping to end what has been a brutal losing streak to Baylor. A lot has been made about rivalries dying due to conference realignment in college football. But matchups like these will inject some energy into fan bases early in the season.