After losing their offensive lineman coach, Baylor football's athletic director and College Football Playoff chairman Mack Rhoades announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from his position, according to a statement from the school.
“Baylor Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades is on a leave of absence for personal reasons, effective November 12. The University will decline to comment further at this time,” the statement read via Matt Fortuna.
Rhoades shared that he initiated the leave, but did not disclose the reason. He is expected to be replaced in his role as the chairman and committee member. The committee usually has 12 people in the group, and they were already one person short before Rhoades took his leave of absence. Randall McDaniel stepped away in October for personal reasons.
Rhoades is also the subject of an internal investigation into an alleged confrontation with a Baylor football player, according to Fortuna.
The football player was allegedly tight end Michael Trigg, and the confrontation was about the color of the shirt that he was wearing during their game against Arizona State earlier in the season. The coaching staff, which included head coach Dave Aranda and tight ends coach Jarrett Anderson, had words with Rhoades about the incident.
The school made a statement, saying they “thoroughly reviewed and investigated in accordance with University police, appropriate actions were taken and the matter is now closed.”
Rhoades has been Baylor's athletic director since 2016. Before then, he was at Missouri and was also the athletic director at Houston and Arizona.
