A Look Forward on Football with Mack Rhoades

*Courtesy of Baylor Athletics

A Look Forward on Football with Mack Rhoades 

(Baylor Vice President & Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades sits down with Director of Sports Journalism Jerry Hill to discuss the current state of the football program.)

Q: Obviously, 2023 is a season that fell short of expectations on the field. Where is your head with all of it? 

A: Of course everyone is frustrated, everyone should be frustrated. We have high standards here, and a lot of people have worked very hard for a long time to raise those standards to where they are today. This is something we are proud of. 

You know, Jerry, I have been in this industry for almost 30 years, and I’ve been an athletics director for almost 20 now. I’m not sure I’ve ever been accused of being too patient, but the reality is that I know when a program has unfixable core problems, and I genuinely do not believe we are in that position. Our issues are absolutely fixable.

I also believe stability matters in building a program, especially at a place like Baylor, and stability is not something we’ve always had here. 

Dave is still growing as a head coach. He has coached fewer games as a head coach than either of our previous two coaches did before they got to our campus. And when we are all long gone, we want people to talk about Dave’s tenure with the same reverence we have when we talk about Coach (Grant) Teaff and his time at Baylor. 

Q: Thoughts on the importance of this offseason? 

A: Obviously, this is a very important offseason. Dave didn’t begin thinking about this offseason after the West Virginia game. He has shown an impressive proactiveness over the past many weeks, through several conversations. He not only has articulated a strong vision and already begun to execute it, but I can also feel the confidence he has in it when I am with him. Our staff, and myself, will be a resource to helping Dave fund and execute whatever changes he thinks are important to make to help us compete for championships. 

Q: What about NIL?

A: We are in a better place on NIL, but are ramping up this area across the board in our department. It is interesting, but I think because of roster size, the NIL market for a sport like men’s basketball materialized much quicker than larger roster sports like football or baseball. And NIL is one component of modern-day roster construction, with balancing the transfer portal and high school and junior college recruiting as well. The balancing of all this is where I really value Dave having an analytical mind. All of our coaches, really. We are so blessed to have really smart, high-competency coaches leading our programs at Baylor. 

I also want to add we are incredibly grateful to all our donors and fans for supporting our NIL efforts. NIL is here to stay, and under current rules, it’s an area we are not permitted to fund internally. We need our donors to continue contributing to GXG, and we’re grateful for those who have already stepped up to help move our NIL operation forward.

Q: Beyond the NIL enhancements, what else helps give you optimism in the program?

A: For one, we have a real game changer coming in the Fudge Development Center this summer. For many, just how significant the Fudge Center will be for us has gotten a little bit lost in all the excitement about the Foster Pavilion opening in less than two months, and all the recent emphasis about NIL. It is impossible to overstate the significance of each of these facilities for the future of Baylor athletics. 

The Fudge Center is going to be impactful in recruiting and how we operate the daily tasks of a championship football program. Some folks may not even know our staff avoids bringing recruits to our current football operations area because it is so far behind what our peers have. This is going to be one of the nation’s best facilities and will drastically change how we operate. 

Q: Any other areas to focus on in the offseason? 

A: A phrase I say a lot is that ‘everything counts, everything matters’. So much so that our department is probably tired of hearing that from me. And I realize it is impossible to be great at everything and we have to prioritize. However, I do think with the way the Big 12 is changing again as a conference, it is a great opportunity to look at everything across the board and really solidify our identity in this new iteration of the conference. 

It is fair to look at a variety of areas that impact our program, including things such as the entirety of our recruiting operation, fan engagement, uniforms and continuing to make improvements to our student-athlete experience. And we plan to do so. 

Q: There has been lots of talk about the young talent on the roster. What does this group of underclassmen say about the future of the program?

A: It says that Baylor football is a place where talented young men want to play. It says when players get to know Coach Aranda, he’s a coach they want to play for. I know our fans have heard about our youth this year. I don’t need to regurgitate that data. It has been an unavoidable truth, but it gives us great optimism for the future. 

Q: Before we conclude, what would you like our fans to hear from you? 

A: I would just say, every single one of our fans, at any level, has a role to play in our success. What makes Baylor special is the people. We are not a big state school. Our fans, by and large, are fans because of a deep personal connection to the university or to its mission. And this connection is almost always deeper than a game result. We need you to not let up on playing your role – keep supporting, showing up, and loving Baylor well.