Baylor names new AD after Mack Rhoades’ departure

Baylor has had a roller-coaster of an athletics year so far. Their biggest money-maker, Baylor football, has had an up-and-down year and has opted out of bowl season. The biggest story has been what happened with their athletic director, Mack Rhoades. He stepped down midseason amid allegations, and it also affected the College Football Playoff process.

The Baylor Bears named Doug McNamee as the new athletic director after Rhoades stepped down. The school announced McNamee's hiring on Monday and made it official. They made sure to highlight the fact that McNamee is a Baylor alum and that he is coming home to Waco.

They posted on X: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰. Welcome home, Doug McNamee, as Vice President & Director of Intercollegiate Athletics!”

McNamee is the president of Field and Stream and worked at Baylor from 2012 to 2018, ultimately as the Baylor senior associate AD, before leaving to become president of Magnolia, the Waco lifestyle brand run by Baylor alums Joanna and Chip Gaines. He joined Field and Stream in 2022.

“My connection to Baylor University runs deep, and its culture, history, and expectations have profoundly shaped my life,” McNamee said in a statement. “I believe the breadth of my experiences has prepared me for this moment at Baylor and within the evolving landscape of college athletics. Stepping into corporate leadership allowed me to cultivate the entrepreneurial mindset, creativity, hunger, and financial discipline required to thrive in today's environment and the one ahead. Returning to my alma mater in this capacity is a profound honor and responsibility. I do not take it lightly.”

Baylor president Linda Livingstone recently told ESPN that a new AD's task would be to tackle the pressures of funding NIL and revenue sharing in college athletics.

That is something that McNamee was responsible for doing in his previous role with the Bears. He was responsible for all major revenue-generating and brand-facing units, including fundraising, marketing, communications, and premium ticketing.

McNamee comes back to an athletic department that badly needs stability. Rhoades was being investigated for violating school policies and stepped down of his own accord. The Baylor football program has taken a massive step back since winning a Big 12 title in 2021 under Dave Aranda, but it is sticking with him. The basketball program has also backslid since winning a national title in 2021 under Scott Drew. A new voice could do a lot to improve those aspects.