Baylor Makes Decision on Future of Head Football Coach Dave Aranda

The Bears coach will return in 2026 for a seventh season.

Baylor head coach Dave Aranda will return for a seventh season in 2026. / Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Baylor head football coach Dave Aranda entered the 2025 season on the hot seat.

And he'll head into the 2026 season the same way.

Aranda will be retained at Baylor and will return for a seventh season in Waco next year, the school announced on Friday.

"After careful evaluation and consideration, we have decided to retain Coach Dave Aranda as the leader of our football program," school president Linda Livingstone said in a statement. "We recognize this decision will generate strong opinions. Let me be clear: Baylor expects excellence, accountability, and competitiveness at the highest level. We are not complacent and we are not settling for mediocrity."

Livingstone mentioned that the stability of Aranda's leadership during a period of transition in the athletic department, most notably featuring the departure of athletic director Mack Rhoades, was a factor in the decision to retain him.

Baylor is 36-35 in Aranda's six seasons at the helm, including a 5-5 mark in 2025. Aranda's best year came in 2021 when the program went 12-2, but he has not won more than eight games since.

The Bears travel to Arizona on Saturday, needing a win for bowl eligibility.

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