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Famous FriendsFellow
Baylor business school grads Mike Singletary and Mark Hurd find that
living near one another—in the San Francisco Bay Area—has fostered a
growing friendship.
By Todd Copeland
Many Baylor alumni are aware that two of the school's most prominent
alumni live and work in the San Francisco Bay Area: Mike Singletary
'83, head coach of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers; and Mark Hurd '79,
president, CEO, and chair of the board of the Hewlett-Packard Company
(HP).
 What
most folks don't know, however, is that the two men are friends. As
shown in the photograph to the left, Hurd and Singletary spent some
time together in the company of other Baylor friends during dinner in
Menlo Park last October after a 49ers game.
Hurd has been at the helm of HP, the largest technology company in the
world, since 2005. He was pictured on the cover of the March 16, 2009,
issue of Fortune magazine, which featured a look at "the world's most admired companies." Hurd was also named "CEO of the Year" in 2008 by the San Francisco Chronicle and has brought increasing success to HP during his four years of leadership.
"Running a company like HP, which is so global and so diversified, is absolutely a team sport," Hurd has said.
For Singletary, being named head coach of the 49ers last year was the
latest achievement in his swiftly ascendant career in the NFL's
coaching ranks. He had previously served on the staff of the Baltimore
Ravens and had been the 49ers' interim head coach.
"I am very excited and humbled to be the head coach," Singletary said
last year at a press conference, with his wife, Kim Courtley Singletary
'82, and five of their seven children watching. "Very humbled."
There are several strong points of connection between Hurd and
Singletary beyond their prominence as leaders and their shared place of
residence. The first is that both are proud graduates of Baylor's
Hankamer School of Business. Hurd earned a bachelor of business
administration degree in 1979, with Singletary following two years
behind him in the business school's halls as a member of the Class of
1981. After balancing the demands of academics and collegiate and
professional sports, Singletary earned a BBA degree in 1983.
"It is always exciting to see Baylor athletics and the Hankamer School
of Business combine to produce graduates who excel in their careers,"
said Dr. Terry Maness '71, MSEco '72, dean of the Hankamer School of
Business. "It takes a strong work ethic and dedication to excel on the
playing field or tennis court and in the classroom. Two outstanding
examples are Mike Singletary and Mark Hurd, and they honor us through
what they have accomplished and how they represent Baylor Business."
As Maness's comment indicates, the two friends also share a common
background as Baylor athletic letterwinners. Singletary’s exploits on
the gridiron as a linebacker for Baylor are well known. Playing
football for the Bears from 1977 to 1980, Singletary led the team to a
SWC championship in 1980 and was a three-time all-American. He then
went on to become a ten-time Pro Bowl selection as a Chicago Bears
linebacker, helping the team win the 1986 Super Bowl, and was inducted
into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1998.
Hurd never cracked any helmets, but he was definitely a force to be
reckoned with when he had a tennis racket in hand. He came to Baylor
from Miami on a tennis scholarship, and he was a nationally ranked
player during his years of wearing the green and gold. In October,
Baylor announced the naming of the Hurd Tennis Building within the
Baylor Tennis Center in recognition of the Hurds' generous support of
Baylor's national championship tennis program and facilities.
Another thread connecting the two famous alums is that they have been
recipients of the Baylor Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni
Award, with Singletary having received the award in 2000 and Hurd in
2008.
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