The timing of Baylor University’s latest mess could not be any worse
From a timeline standpoint, perhaps Baylor University was “due.”
In 2003, it was the Dave Bliss/Patrick Dennehy tragedy.
In 2015 to 2016, it was the Art Briles/football team Title IX/sexual assault allegation fiasco.
It’s 2025, just “in time” for another slew of negative headlines for the Baylor athletic department.
On Thursday, longtime Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades stepped away from his spot as the chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee because he is taking a leave of absence from the school while it investigates allegations against him.
One person familiar with the situation suggested that Rhoades will not be back, and that this will be a “housecleaning” for the Baylor athletic department. Head football coach Dave Aranda’s job security remains a point of concern, and speculation, within the Baylor community.
According to the Baylor communications department, the investigation started Nov. 10, and that the “leave of absence is anticipated to be around four weeks.”
Rhoades told ESPN that he initiated this leave. A source confirmed a report from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger that allegations against Rhoades relate to Baylor’s faith-based university policies. That broad language would potentially allow a school to fire an employee with cause. Easily.
These allegations are not related to an incident that Rhoades reportedly had with a football player over his uniform on the field this season.
The CFP committee quickly replaced Rhoades with Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek.
Baylor University said that the allegations “do not involve a Title IX report, NCAA rules violations or student welfare,” or the football program. Jovan Overshown and Cody Hall have been designated co-interim ADs.
Baylor’s bad timing
This development is not what the Baylor athletic department needs.
At 5-4, Baylor could likely finish with its fourth losing record in six years under Aranda. And Baylor is like every other school in the Big 12 and ACC — that is not named Florida State or Clemson — in that it is constantly aware of the imaginary cutoff for the feared next round of conference realignment.
If Baylor is ready to move on from Aranda, replacing both the AD and head football coach at the same time is challenging. Normal procedure is the school wants its AD to lead a vetting process of coaching candidates.
With many jobs already open for 2026, top coaching candidates are already being contacted to line up interviews.
What no one at Baylor wants again is an embarrassing, or potentially tragic, situation that stymies growth and progress, and damages the university. The situations involving Dave Bliss and Art Briles engulfed the university, and took years of recovery.
If the Rhoades situation is contained, and only a little embarrassing, the cleanup is minor. A four-week investigation period is not good. Four weeks could feel like four months.
A surprising turn in the Mack Rhoades era
The irony is Rhoades was hired to resurrect a battered department, and did just that.
Rhoades was hired in July 2016 to replace Ian McCaw, who had resigned amid a slew of Title IX violations and sexual assault allegations throughout the university. McCaw had been the AD at Liberty since November 2016.
Rhoades led Baylor’s athletic department through a series of inherited challenges, including an NCAA investigation that ultimately resulted in not much of anything.
Rhoades hired Matt Rhule, whose three-year tenure ended in an 11-3 season in 2019, and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl. Rhule left to become the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Rhule is now the head coach at Nebraska.
Rhoades also was the AD when coach Scott Drew led the men’s basketball team to the NCAA title in 2021.
In April of that year, Rhoades also was a key member of the administration that let championship-winning women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey leave for LSU. The relationship between Mulkey and the administration had worn thin, and while some people within the Baylor community were not happy that Mulkey left, there was an understanding that it was time.
Rhoades also led the efforts to build a new basketball arena; Foster Pavilion has received positive reviews since it opened in 2024.
In 2020, Rhoades was named the Under Armour AD of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA); the Sports Business Journal named him the Athletics Director of the Year, in 2021.
The hiring of Aranda to succeed Rhule has not gone as planned. After a 12-2 year in 2021 with a win in the Sugar Bowl, Baylor has not come close to reaching that success achieved in Aranda’s second year.
It’s 2025, and Baylor’s problems now extend beyond that of the football office down to the athletic director, which is a surprise.
It is, however, certainly consistent with Baylor’s timeline.
This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 5:03 PM.
