Inside The Bears

How analysts and social media are reacting to the Mack Rhoades situation

The latest on the controversy swirling around Baylor's athletic director
Josh Crawford|
Jul 18, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Baylor Bears new athletic director Mack Rhoades speaks at a press conference during the Big 12 Media Days at Omni Dallas Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Jul 18, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Baylor Bears new athletic director Mack Rhoades speaks at a press conference during the Big 12 Media Days at Omni Dallas Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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The disappointment of Baylor football's results on the field has become a secondary story this week.

Last week, during Baylor's bye week, a report made by Outkick first broke about reports of the investigation of Mack Rhoades initiated by the university. The basis of the report centered on on-field interaction between the Baylor athletic director and star tight end Michael Trigg, allegedly confronting him with a profanity-laced tirade about his decision to wear a long-sleeve yellow shirt under his jersey, which was covering a brace for a shoulder injury he had previously sustained.

Also, allegations are that Rhoades put his hands on and verbally accosted an assistant coach after the game, which was witnessed by several others on the staff. With that, Rhoades' open investigation status seemingly left him on thin ice moving forward with the program.

Today, more layers involving Mack Rhoades revealed themselves. First reported by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, Rhoades self-initiated a personal leave of absence yesterday. This holds particularly heavy weight, given Rhoades' status as the College Football Playoff committee chairman, two weeks into the now weekly release of the playoff rankings, with conference championship season among us. Rhoades just appeared on ESPN for the committee's most recent release of the playoff rankings.

That report drew out the commentary of some of the biggest names in sports, including ESPN college football writer Adam Rittenberg, Pat McAfee, and friend of the site Shehan Jeyarajah Dellenger also reported that Utah athletic director Mark Harlan has added to the selection committee and Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek has replaced Rhoades as the committee chairman.

However, as the afternoon went on, more details of the reasoning behind Rhoades' leave began to filter out, with it becoming apparent that Rhoades' leave and latest transgression were not related to his on-field encounter with Trigg and the assistant coach, leaving many to wonder what the 60-year-old Rhoades' abrupt absence was directly related to.

Just a few hours ago, Dellenger again reported that the new allegations and presumptively the reason behind Rhoades' absence were related to a violation of Baylor's "faith-practice policies and practices". Dellenger's report that Baylor did not respond, nor deny, the allegations levied by him in his post on X.

Outkick's Trey Wallace, who was first to break the initial reporting last week about Baylor's investigation into Rhoades's on-field interaction with Trigg and the assistant coach, provided more specifics around the most recent Rhoades situation and the chaos around it. Alongside stating that Rhoades wasn't seen a dinner on Wednesday night with prominent Baylor boosters present, Wallace's article stated that Rhoades' latest investigation involves an "outside relationship" between someone who. is not "currently a full-time employee" of Baylor.

Local media outlet KWTX has reported that the situation with Rhoades has now made its way to the desk of some of the highest-ranking officials within the university.

With a season already clouded with controversy, this is not the type of attention Baylor was looking for going into their last-ranked matchup of the season, as they search for a potential upset of the Utes.

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Josh Crawford
JOSH CRAWFORD

Josh began covering Baylor athletics in July 2025. Before this, he previously wrote for Syracuse men's basketball and football at SI from 2022-24. As a former Division I defensive lineman at Prairie View, Josh is passionate about storytelling from a former athlete's perspective. When he's not covering Baylor, he enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts and music, and loves cooking a good meal.

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