Need another reason to attend the Baylor Bears’ home opener Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium? How about the debut of David Crowder’s “Rise Up,” featured in the one-minute video shown on the stadium’s video board when the Bears take the field?

Crowder, a Waco native and Baylor University graduate, and his David Crowder Band have earned a national reputation for their brand of Christian pop-rock.

But “Rise Up” is his first collegiate fight song, written for the express purpose of pumping up the Bears’ pride.

David Crowder is hoping his new song will help Baylor football suppporters “Rise Up” this season.
Rod Aydelotte/Tribune-Herald, file

His inspiration was Baylor Athletics’ own “Rise Up” marketing campaign, with commercials designed to hit Bears fans right in the emotions.

“That ‘Rise Up’ there — it just made something in the heart swell,” he said Thursday, noting he had the commercial featuring Baylor coach Art Briles on his mind when he went to bed one night last week.

The next morning, Crowder woke up with the seed of a song of his own.

When he was still repeating the lines at work at his church office, he realized he had something.

“I thought, ‘That’s actually pretty good — maybe I should write it down,’ ” he said. “So I ran home to my studio and got to work.”

Crowder soon had written and recorded his own “Rise Up” song, complete with bluesy slide guitar and “an attitude.”

Though he is best known for contemporary Christian worship music, this is, pure and simple, a rocking school fight song.

He shipped it over to a friend in Baylor’s athletics department and offered it for his alma mater’s use, if they were interested.

They were.

Bryan Bray, director of BaylorVision, which handles and produces the video on the stadium’s scoreboard, put his three-man team into action, scrapping the one-minute video they already had prepared to start Baylor home games to create a new one with Crowder and his song.

Athletics director Ian McCaw suggested the addition of footage of past Baylor football greats such as Grant Teaff, Mike Singletary and Cody Carlson.

As BaylorVision rushed to create the video, Crowder and Baylor officials worked on distribution of the song through EMI, which owns the label on which Crowder and his band record, and Baylor’s website.

After an overnight editing session by BaylorVision’s Ben Huelsing, “Rise Up” was finished scant days before Saturday’s home opener and kept largely under wraps.

“The song rocks. If there’s any doubt that David Crowder can rock, this should quiet everybody. . . . He rocks,” Bray said. He added that working with Crowder scored him some points with his 15-year-old daughter.

Crowder, too, was impressed.

“I was ready to get the (football) pads on myself after seeing it,” he joked.

“Rise Up” makes its premiere as the Baylor football team takes the field before Saturday’s game with Sam Houston State University.

The full two-minute, 48-second song and video will be shown between the third and fourth quarters.

Crowder and Baylor fans will be able to download the song for free after the game at www.baylor.edu/riseup and www.baylorbears.com.

The song will be released for radio airplay on Christian stations beginning Monday.

As for the video, don’t expect to see it on YouTube.com or any other website until after the Bears finish their season. The video is meant to pump up Baylor football fans and is done best at the game, in the stadium, Bray said.

For Crowder and his band, getting back to Waco in time for Saturday’s kickoff will be a little tight: They are scheduled to perform tonight at the Lifelight Festival in Worthing, South Dakota.

“Rise Up” may be the song he sings to their flight home.

choover@wacotrib.com

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