GRAPEVINE, Texas – A quiet high school gymnasium is the perfect place for Matt Sayman now. But 15 years ago, quiet this time of year was maddening.
“My life is a lot like this gym. It’s peaceful,” Sayman said, on the court at Grapevine Faith Christian School where he now coaches. “Back in 2003, it was chaotic. Every day it felt like there was some new revelation about a story unfolding regarding my teammates, my coach, my program.”
Sayman received a full athletic scholarship from Baylor University to play basketball and was on the team from 2000 until 2004. The summer before his senior season, the biggest scandal in Baylor basketball history broke.
A teammate killed a fellow player, and his coach was accused of a cover-up. Baylor’s self-imposed sanctions included a ban from postseason play.
“That hurt bad because, it’s kind of like you and I going to work and being told, ‘You have to be here but you’re not going to get paid.’ Why would we do that?” Sayman said.
“Some players aspire to play in the NBA, but from 1992 when Laettner hit that turnaround shot for Duke, I wanted to play in March Madness. It didn’t happen the first three years, but we were moving toward it. And everybody knew we were about to turn the corner.”
But the scandal changed everything.
“It’s not every day you see your team and your program on the news in that way. And that was a difficult moment,” he said. “I can remember going to the gas station and reading a headline and thinking, ‘What else could happen?’”
“Within a month or two, 21 years of really good habits went out the window.”
Sayman spent the next nine years drinking and partying.
“I grew up going to church. Faith was a big part of life. But, I think along the way basketball might have taken over and I didn’t realize it,” he said. “When basketball was gone, I didn’t have anything else to stand on. I’d never been in the party scene, but soon I found myself not just dabbling in that world, but throwing myself completely into it – competing in that world.”
Sayman eventually found his way back to his faith and is now the boy’s head basketball coach at Grapevine Faith Christian.
His book “The Leftovers” focuses on his experiences in college and beyond. Sayman now speaks to churches and will speak during Easter weekend services at Gateway Church.
Despite continued controversy at his alma mater, Sayman feels a deep love for Baylor University.
“I love Baylor. It is hard to see these difficult situations anywhere – and that’s the thing, it’s happening all over the country – but it’s hard to see at the school I went to and that l love. You know, we focus on the few people doing things the wrong way.
“But there’s so many good people at the university, and athletes and players that have nothing to do with the situations going on. Speaking from my experience, we felt like we were thrown in to the same category as everyone else.”
A decade-and-a-half after his missed March Madness experience, Sayman is at peace and finds deep joy in watching the NCAA tournament.
“There is nothing like it because it’s pure,” he said. “For the majority of these schools and these players, this is it. I love getting to see the emotion and their faces. I love getting to see the coaches tear up, and get so excited for their kids when they go through this moment. I’m way over it all now. It’s the best sporting event of the year, no doubt.”