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Baylor president formally announces Mack Rhoades' resignation from AD role

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz15 hours agoNickSchultz_7
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Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Baylor athletics director Mack Rhoades has officially resigned, effective immediately, university president Linda Livingstone said in a letter to the community. News of Rhoades’ pending departure broke Thursday afternoon.

Earlier this month, Rhoades announced he was taking a leave of absence from his role and also stepped down as chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee. The decision stemmed from ongoing Baylor investigation into allegations that “do not involve Title IX or any direct interaction with a Baylor athlete,” according to Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger. Those allegations are not related to a report from Outkick regarding an alleged incident on the Baylor sideline.

On3’s Pete Nakos reported Thursday that Rhoades was expected to resign. Livingstone made that official Thursday night with her letter to the Baylor community and said Jovan Overshown and Cody Hall will serve as co-interim athletics directors.

“Mack Rhoades, Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, has informed me of his decision to step away from his position at Baylor, effective immediately,” Livingstone wrote. “While transitions like these are never easy, they provide an opportunity to reflect on the significant impact Mack has had on our University.

“Since joining Baylor in 2016, Mack has led our athletics program through a period of remarkable rebuilding and achievement. During his tenure, Baylor claimed numerous Big 12 championships, made countless postseason appearances and earned national titles in several sports, including historic wins that will forever be etched in our collective memory. These victories were not just bout athletic excellence – they were moments that brought the Baylor Family together.”

Rhoades took over as Baylor’s athletics director in 2016 after previously holding the same role at Missouri from 2014-15, Houston from 2009-15 and Akron from 2006-09. He started his administrative career in 1996 as a marketing assistant at Yale before a stint at Marquette and later serving as the executive senior associate AD at UTEP from 1998-2006.

Rhoades also started this year as the chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee and appeared on the first two rankings reveal shows on ESPN. However, he later resigned amid his leave of absence, leading to some changes to the committee. Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek took over as chairman and Utah AD Mark Harlan joined the committee for the rest of the year.