Baylor AD Mack Rhoades Q&A on Big 12 Expansion, Grant of Rights & more

Baylor Vice President and Director of Athletics answered many questions regarding the Big 12 Expansion process, the league’s Grant of Rights, and much more with SicEm365 Radio on 365 Sports Wednesday afternoon. 

Did you have any meetings today by any chance when it came to the conference?

Mack Rhoades: No meetings today relative to the conference. So how about how about that? And just by the way, thank you for finally fitting me in.

I don't know if I've ever asked you this. Does the Big 12 expanding, whenever that time comes or even discussing expansion, does that in any way shape or form affect the grant of rights with anybody else in the conference?

Mack Rhoades: In general, no, it does not.

So you can talk about expansion with other teams and or look into expansion, and it does not affect the grant of rights and when it ends?

Mack Rhoades: All I will say that right now, we have a conference of 10 members. And at least for now, we believe all 10 of those members will be members through the 24-25 season. All 10 are  voting members and participate, or can participate, in vote for change in membership in the future. And that does not impact future grant or rights or other obligations.

From the day that you testified in front of the senate to now, how would you say the track of the Big 12 has changed?

Mack Rhoades: Like anything after an initial impact, I think there's this evolutionary process, this period of time of trying to get your feet settled underneath you and understand what has happened. Then focusing on how you move forward. I think there will be that period of uncertainty. There's always uncertainty, but I think that period of uncertainty will become clear in the future. I do believe the Big 12 has a great future ahead of it. 

You can't really say much can you?

No, I really can't. I know people understand that and that I know that you all understand that and you need to ask those questions. I've been blessed, and as you mentioned at the beginning of the segment, to be on the expansion committee. I signed, as well as everybody else, a confidentiality form. And as the athletic director for one of 10 institutions right now it's not my place to talk about anything specifically as as to our future. That's really the commissioners place and I respect that. But I'm not going to be bashful in saying that I think we've got a bright future and I think Baylor has a prominent place in that future.

If there was a nondisclosure agreement, how come not everybody is abiding by it within the conference because I've seen others who have discussed expansion, I've seen others discuss the numbers that they would like, as far as teams. Is that dangerous? Or is that kind of something that you're trying to as a conference maybe put out a couple of those, I guess things that are being said?

Mack Rhoades: If you're asking my opinion, should we expand and what's that number? I would tell you, yeah, I absolutely believe that we should expand, but it's got to be the right institutions. And if I had to choose between two or four, I would tell you that given the landscape, given potential additions, if that's what we do, I like the number four. And again, I think that could be be really, really good for the Big 12. 

What about four or six? 

Mack Rhoades: I think whatever happens in the future, that doesn't preclude from another step. Not saying that would happen, but it wouldn't, I think, preclude from another step, another phase (of expansion). But, for me right now, again, my opinion only, I think four (additions) for a lot of different reasons. Which is hard for me to talk about without breaking confidentially, but I think four, if we're going to do anything, is very compelling versus six at the moment.

You have been an AD in other places, does that give you maybe even more insight on what can be accomplished in other places where you've been?

Mack Rhoades: Yeah, I think it does. I think it gives me some insight into any of those particular institutions. I'm grateful for the other seven member institutions that will remain in the Big 12. There's great value there. I’ve got great respect for the presidents and chancellors to the athletic directors. If we choose to grow and bring in additional members, we owe it to each of ourselves, we owe it to the eight to be really, really thoughtful and careful about who those members are in making sure that they make the Big 12 better, that they don't weigh down the Big 12, and gives us great opportunities to grow.

I think to the idea of hiring coaches or head coaches. You hire coaches with the hope and the intent, - or for that matter, any staff - that what they are today isn't what they're going to be five years from now. That five years from now, they're going to be better, they're going to be much better. That's certainly part of the part of the process.

And quite frankly, Baylor needs to be better five years from now. We've probably just finished up arguably the best year in the history of Baylor Athletics when you think about not just athletic success, but academic success, our other two pillars, character formation, spiritual growth, and yet we need to be better five years from now. We had an all-staff meeting today and we talked about it. We talked about, I believe this, our best days are are still ahead of us and I'm gonna echo those same sentiments with the Big 12.

You have two teams, Texas and Oklahoma -- I’ve got to ask you before I can ask you a follow up question and I don't know what you can tell me -- but they've already said that they're leaving for another conference at the end of 24-25. Am I right with that?

Mack Rhoades: Yeah, that's been public, and each of their boards voted to do that, and the SEC voted to accept them.

So my question, and I hope I can ask this correctly, is if in fact that is true, why do they still get to vote?

Mack Rhoades: That's a that's certainly a fair question and I'm not the Big 12's outside counsel so I haven't certainly read every line through a legal lens in terms of our bylaws and our grant of rights. But the fact remains is they are still members until 24-25. And we're going to treat him as such. That is certainly following our bylaws.

Before this happened you guys were working on the next TV deal and all of those rights. And then this kind of threw a wrench. How much involved is the conference now talking with potential other TV partners? And how difficult are those discussions not being able to really know what you're saying just yet?

Mack Rhoades: I was part of that committee. For now, those conversations, that dialogue has been put on pause until we have more clarity, a better understanding of what the Big 12 is going to be, the number of institutions. But certainly here in the near future I think we'll begin to reengage.

You think about 2024-2025, it's a long time from now. This has been a really changing landscape, and I would say rapidly changing landscape when you think about television, and you think about cord cutting, and linear television broadcasts. Right now, CBS to some degree, but it's primarily ESPN and FOX. Three to four years from now, five years from now, are there more buyers in that space when we think about college athletics, live content, live content, linear? 

And then I think we're still figuring out the digital aspects. Obviously, ESPN has ESPN+, but does an Amazon or Netflix or some of those others get into this space? And how do you monetize that? A lot of fluidity to all of it, but to answer your question, we'll get back reengaged here in the near future once we have a little bit more certainty about about who we are.

Mack, when the news came out about Texas and Oklahoma and the SEC, I can't imagine anybody was more blindsided, it appears, than the commissioner himself. And there were thoughts would he even make it another week or two? Because we know what it did to the conference, we know what it did to Baylor, we know what it did to the eight remaining teams and how dangerous that time was. What have you seen from Bob Bowlsby in response to that being basically knocked on the canvas?

Mack Rhoades: I don't know that it's completely fair for me to speak on the behalf of Bob, but I do know this. I don't think he needed to share it with anybody, but I do think he was hurt. There was some trust there. Not some, but I think a lot of trust, between Bob and the 10 member institutions. I think that was really hard for him. He showed great, great resolve. As probably as hard as that was for him, he's been been at work constantly consistently about, how do we how do we move forward? I think I can speak on behalf of the presidents, chancellors, the athletic directors that we're grateful that he's been in the foxhole. I'd like to think that we've all been in the foxhole with him in terms of figuring this out, and how do we how do we best move forward.

I want to ask you about a timeline. I know you're kind of bound by the nondisclosure agreement and all that. So you have 10 teams, two of them are leaving. Can the conference have discussion on expansion while they're still a part of the conference?

Mack Rhoades: Can we have conversation discussion about it? Absolutely. 

Can you vote on it? 

Mack Rhoades: Yeah, absolutely we can. I'll jump ahead and answer the next question. Can we add before those two leave? Yes, absolutely we can. So those are things that are all in play, all been talked about, vetted. And again, I think I started the segment where I'm not going to be bashful about saying that I think the Big 12 has a bright future.

On top of that, if in fact you can do all of what you just mentioned, you are doing that, does that in any way affect the current television contract that you have that runs through 24-25?

Mack Rhoades: Not negatively. It does not. Could it enhance? That would remain to be seen if we indeed change membership prior to the end of the current contract. But negatively impact? No, I don't believe so. We don't believe so.

When we had you won, after things went down, I asked you this question. Do you believe in your heart that Baylor would remain a part of a Power 5 conference and a part of the autonomy? And you said then you did. And with what appears to be going on right now with possible momentum, and if not just momentum, maybe not just a pulse, but down the tracks, do you feel even better today than you did back when you said that to me?

Mack Rhoades: I'm struggling with my answer because I felt certain of it then and I feel certain of it today. I think that vision is probably a little bit clearer today than it was then. That's probably the best way for me to describe it. The difference between three weeks ago, four weeks ago, whenever that was, and today. I think our fans know this, I think our student athletes know this, our staff knows that we're gonna fight, scratch and claw like crazy for what's best for Baylor. And it's certainly in this instance, what's best for the Big 12?

You feel like there's gonna be something that is more than what you can say now even in the matter of days or weeks?

Mack Rhoades: Probably the closest I can get to that is sooner rather than later. 

What's the difference if the Big 12 is in contact with teams and other conferences, or maybe even one that may not be a part of a conference, and what the SEC and what Texas and Oklahoma were doing?

Mack Rhoades: I think it's process. I think it's the way it's done. Schools need to be the ones to submit applications, to have those. I think it's about the process, but I also think it's about transparency and how you handle it with your own conference. Maybe not just how you're handling with maybe the conference that you want to become a member of, but the conference that you're in. It's a really complicated question. I know the Big 12 has handled it the right way and I'm not saying any other conference did not, so I don't want anybody to read in to that. I can't really speak to how any future potential member would would handle it with their own conference.