Baylor AD Mack Rhoades taking leave of absence from duties due to personal reasons – The New York Times

College Sports
Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades is taking a leave of absence from the Bears for personal reasons. Kevin Jairaj / USA Today Sports
Three weeks before the College Football Playoff’s field is set to be announced, selection committee chairman Mack Rhoades is stepping down from that role and taking a leave of absence from his job as Baylor athletic director due to personal reasons, the school said.
The university received allegations involving Rhoades on Monday, Baylor associate athletic director for communications Brett Ingram told The Athletic. Rhoades’ leave does not involve a Title IX report, NCAA rule violations or student welfare.
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The leave comes less than a week after news surfaced of an investigation conducted by Baylor into an alleged sideline incident in September involving Rhoades, a Baylor player and assistant coach. However, Ingram said Rhoades’ leave is unrelated to that incident and doesn’t involve the football program.
“Baylor vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics Mack Rhoades is on a leave of absence for personal reasons, effective November 12,” the school said in a statement. “The university will decline to comment further at this time.”
A replacement for Rhoades as CFP chair was not immediately named.
The departure of Rhoades shrinks the CFP selection committee to 11 members, down from the typical 13, as Randall McDaniel also stepped away for personal reasons in October. Rhoades’ spot on the committee represents the Big 12, and the conference could nominate someone else to fill it. That would need to be approved by the CFP management committee, made up of 10 commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director.
The committee also needs a new chair, the person who leads the rankings meetings and speaks to ESPN and the media after the rankings reveal. That is likely to be filled by someone currently on the committee.
On Friday, a school source confirmed to The Athletic that Rhoades was recently investigated by the school for a sideline incident involving tight end Michael Trigg and tight ends coach Jarrett Anderson.
A Baylor source said Rhoades was alleged to have taken exception to a gold, long-sleeved undershirt worn by Trigg before kickoff of the Bears’ home game against Arizona State on Sept. 20. According to the source, Rhoades grabbed Trigg by the shirt, minutes before the offense was to take the field, and told Trigg to change the shirt. The school source said Trigg was “rattled” by the incident.
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Rhoades apologized to Trigg, face-to-face, in the days following the incident, the source said. Trigg’s father, Michael Trigg Sr., told The Athletic he was alarmed by Rhoades’ interaction with his son but praised Anderson for defending Trigg and said he wanted to move on, as Trigg pursues an NFL future.
The source also said that Anderson and head coach Dave Aranda had heated words with Rhoades to defend Trigg following the incident. In a statement last week, Baylor acknowledged an investigation had taken place but did not offer specifics.
“More than a month ago, Baylor University received reports of an incident involving Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades. These reports were thoroughly reviewed and investigated in accordance with University policies, appropriate actions were taken, and the matter is now closed,” the statement read. “Mr. Rhoades has expressed regret over his emotions and recognizes his conduct at that moment was not reflective of our Christian mission and values. Mr. Rhoades is an important part of our Baylor Family, and we look forward to his continued leadership of our Athletics Department. We remain committed to ensuring a respectful and accountable environment for all of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff.”
During Rhoades’ absence, deputy athletic director Jovan Overshown and executive senior associate athletic director Cody Hall will serve as interim athletic directors, Ingram said.
Rhoades has been Baylor’s athletic director since 2016. He arrived after the ouster of then-school president Kenneth Starr, athletic director Ian McCaw and head football coach Art Briles following an investigation into sexual assault allegations that engulfed the school and football program.
Rhoades, who had stints as athletic director at Missouri and Houston before he arrived at Baylor, hired Matt Rhule, who took the Bears to a Big 12 title game appearance and Sugar Bowl appearance in 2019. After Rhule departed, Rhoades hired current coach Dave Aranda, who is 36-34 in his five-plus seasons at the school, including a Big 12 championship and Sugar Bowl victory in 2021. The football program, though, has been under scrutiny for underperforming in recent years.
In 2022, Rhoades signed a 10-year contract extension through 2032. Baylor president Linda Livingstone also signed a 10-year contract extension less than two months later.
— The Athletic’s Ralph Russo and Chris Vannini contributed to this report. 
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Sam Khan Jr. is a senior writer for The Athletic covering college football and recruiting primarily in Texas. Previously, he spent eight years covering college sports at ESPN.com and seven years as a sports reporter at the Houston Chronicle. A native Houstonian, Sam graduated from the University of Houston. Follow Sam on Twitter @skhanjr

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