Baylor AD Mack Rhoades taking leave of absence while school conducts second internal investigation
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Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades is taking a leave of absence while an internal investigation is done by the school.
According to Yahoo Sports sources, the investigation is unrelated to the alleged confrontation of a football player during a game earlier this season. Baylor had previously confirmed an investigation of that incident and that reports of the confrontation “were thoroughly reviewed and investigated in accordance with University policies, appropriate actions were taken and the matter is now closed.”
The school confirmed to Yahoo Sports that Rhoades began his leave on Wednesday, a day after he appeared on the second College Football Playoff rankings show of the season. Rhoades is the CFP's committee chair for the 2025 season.
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
According to multiple reports on the first incident, Rhoades allegedly confronted tight end Michael Trigg over the type of undershirt that Trigg was wearing against Arizona State. Rhoades allegedly didn’t like the color of long-sleeve shirt Trigg was wearing to fully cover the shoulder brace he had on.
Following Rhoades’ alleged confrontation of Trigg, Baylor coaches including head coach Dave Aranda reportedly had “heated words” with Rhoades.
Rhoades has been Baylor’s athletic director since 2016. He was at Missouri before he arrived at Baylor and has previously been an athletic director at Houston and Akron.
As the CFP chair, Rhoades has been responsible for explaining the committee’s ranking rationale over the first two playoff shows of the season. The CFP committee has been operating with 12 members, one short of their typical 13, after Randall McDaniel stepped away from the committee for the season due to personal reasons.
If Rhoades also steps away from the committee, the CFP will need to find an interim committee chair to appear on ESPN for the foreseeable future and will operate with just 11 members barring a midseason replacement.
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