BREAKING: Athletic Director Mack Rhoades Taking Leave of Absence
Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. Baylor University released a statement Thursday morning confirming the news first reported by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.
The statement from Baylor read, “Baylor Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades is on a leave of absence for personal reasons, effective November 12. The University will decline to comment further at this time.”
SicEm365 has confirmed that Rhoades’ leave is not connected to football, any Title IX matters, or NCAA rules issues.
Executive Senior Associate AD Jovan Overshown and Executive Senior Associate AD Cody Hall will step into the interim roles as athletic directors.
Rhoades initiated the leave, which began on Wednesday, Nov. 12. He is also the chair of the College Football Playoff selection committee and will step down from that role as well.
Rhoades, a two-time national Athletics Director of the Year, has overseen one of the most transformative periods in Baylor Athletics history since arriving in July 2016. His tenure includes 24 Big 12 Championships, eight national titles, and the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball championship, the first in school history.
He also guided Baylor through an ambitious facilities overhaul, highlighted by the $212.6 million Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion and the newly opened Fudge Family Football Development Center, reshaping the campus athletics footprint over the last decade.
Rhoades’ leadership philosophy — “Preparing Champions for Life” — emphasized a comprehensive student-athlete model: academic success, athletic achievement, character development, and spiritual growth. That approach became a defining piece of Baylor Athletics’ identity post-2016.
This comes on the heels of the OutKick report last Friday, stating that Rhoades was the subject of a school investigation following an alleged verbal and physical altercation with star tight end Michael Trigg on Sept. 20, when the Bears faced Arizona State. However, sources confirmed Rhoades’ leave is not directly related to the situation from the early-season contest.
