College Football Playoff committee undergoes huge change before Week 12

Baylor University announced Thursday that Mack Rhoades, its vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics, is on a leave of absence for personal reasons effective immediately.

The university issued a short statement acknowledging the leave and declining further comment while the matter is addressed.

Separately, the College Football Playoff confirmed Rhoades has stepped down from his role as chairman of the CFP selection committee for the time being.

The latest moves stem from a report that led Baylor to open an internal review, following an alleged sideline confrontation on Sept. 20 involving Rhoades, Michael Trigg, and an assistant coach.

The university says an inquiry is underway, even though it frames Rhoades’ leave as personal.

Baylor AD Mack Rhoades is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons, the school confirms to @YahooSports. Rhoades initiated the leave, which started yesterday.

How this impacts Rhoades’ appointment on the CFP selection committee - he’s the chair - is unclear at this time.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 13, 2025

Trigg has arguably been Baylor’s most productive player this season, leading the team in receiving yards (607) and touchdowns (six) on 40 catches (15.2 yards per catch), which is why the reported incident is so newsworthy.

While the university handles the review, Baylor has assigned deputy athletic director Jovan Overshown and Cody Hall, the school’s executive senior associate AD, to oversee the department in a co-interim capacity.

Rhoades has led Baylor athletics since 2016 and was named CFP chair earlier this year; he previously served as an athletic director at Houston and Missouri.

A helmet with College Football Playoff host committee decals. — Houston, TX, USA; A helmet with College Football Playoff host committee decals at the CFP National Championship Host Committee press conference at JW Marriot Houston by the Galleria. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The timing is challenging for the CFP, as the committee enters its most critical stretch of rankings with conference races concluding.

While the chair’s duties — logistics, media representation, and guiding deliberations — can be absorbed by the executive director and other members, the sudden absence creates a public instability that the CFP must address.

Immediate concerns include who will fill the CFP chair, how rankings will be explained without their spokesman, and whether Baylor’s probe will reshape Rhoades’ future and the program's integrity during a live season.

Baylor currently sits at 5-4 overall (3-3 Big 12) with an upcoming schedule that includes hosting Utah on Nov. 15, a visit to Arizona on Nov. 22, and the regular season finale at home against Houston on Nov. 29.

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