Baylor AD Takes ‘Leave of Absence,’ Steps Down From CFP Committee Role

Mack Rhoades has begun a leave of absence from his duties as Baylor athletic director for “personal reasons,” the school confirmed in a statement to Front Office Sports Thursday, adding that the leave began on Nov 12. The news was first reported by Yahoo Sports.

Rhoades will also step down as the chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee this season, a CFP spokesperson confirmed to FOS.

Rhoades will no longer serve on the board at all. He will be replaced by Utah athletic director Mark Harlan as the Big 12’s representative. Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek will serve as selection committee chair for the rest of the season.

The news comes less than a week after an Outkick report detailed a university investigation into potential misconduct by Rhoades, alleging he initiated a physical altercation with tight end Michael Trigg and then with an assistant coach earlier this season. The alleged events occurred both before and after the game against Arizona State on Sept. 20. The university told Outkick that an investigation took place, and that Rhoades apologized and the matter was closed.

On Thursday, a school spokesperson said Rhoades’s leave of absence was not related to the September incident. The school received allegations and opened a new investigation Monday that was unrelated to the Sept. 20 altercation, football, NCAA rules, or athlete welfare, a spokesperson confirmed to FOS. The investigation is expected to take about four weeks.

The news also impacts the CFP; the spokesperson characterized Rhoades as stepping down, suggesting he won’t return to the position. 

As of earlier this week, Rhoades remained in his position as the head of the committee, and on Tuesday, he addressed the media regarding the most recent CFP rankings. He was not asked about the reported incident by anyone at ESPN during his interview on the weekly rankings reveal show, or by reporters in his weekly post-rankings conference call.

Last month, CFP committee member Randall McDaniel stepped away from his role for personal reasons, with plans to return to the committee next season. That dropped the committee from 13 to 12 members;  Rhoades’s departure would drop it to 11.