This is a monthly feature on someone who makes a difference in other people’s lives. To submit someone for consideration, email ken.sury@wacotrib.com.
Perhaps there’s no better measure of success and leadership than receiving a lengthy contract extension.
The success that Baylor athletics has achieved in recent years across all sports is a testament to the job done by its athletic director, Mack Rhoades.
In March, Baylor signed Rhoades to a 10-year contract extension as vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics. His leadership will be needed in the years ahead.
“We’re experiencing more change in intercollegiate athletics now than we have in the last 10 to 20 years,” he said. “I want to be able to navigate all of that here at Baylor.”
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The list before athletic directors can feel overwhelming as college sports will have to address issues such as NIL (name, image and likeness), the transfer portal and NCAA governance.
The Big 12 Conference itself will be changing with the upcoming departures of Texas and Oklahoma and the additions of Houston, Cincinnati, BYU and the University of Central Florida.
“I think this is an unbelievable opportunity for the Big 12,” he said. “The Big 12’s best days are still ahead.”
There’s much to look forward to on the Baylor campus with ground to be broken for a new basketball pavilion and football development center.
The recent run of athletic success under Rhoades swells the hearts of Bear alumni. The men’s basketball team won the national championship in 2021 and shared the Big 12 title with eventual national champ Kansas this year. The football team won the Big 12 title and beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day for a best-ever 12-2 record. First-year women’s basketball coach Nikki Collen directed her team to a Big 12 championship.
Rhoades has shown a knack for hiring coaches who aren’t the more traditional choices, but have delivered success in short order. That’s been true in football with Matt Rhule and now Dave Aranda.
“It’s not hard to attract people to Baylor,” he said. “But there are a lot of characteristics we look for. You want somebody that will truly embrace our Christian values and Christian mission. It’s about leadership. Who can be a transformational leader that goes beyond the sport they are coaching.”
When Rhoades was hired in 2016, Baylor was reeling from the dismissals of head coach Art Briles, and the resignations of Athletic Director Ian McCaw and President Ken Starr over the handling of sexual abuse cases.
He hired Jim Grobe as interim head coach to steady the program and then brought on Rhule from Temple University to run the football program, which found its footing in his second and third years. Aranda in his first collegiate head coaching job went from 2-7 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season to 12-2 last season.
“We were fortunate to have two who are great coaches, but they’re even better people,” he said.
Before coming to Baylor, Rhoades faced challenges while athletic director at Missouri, which dealt with racial unrest on campus.
“I felt like God put Amy and I there for that reason,” he said. “The institution and athletics had to navigate through that, and Missouri is in a better place than it was.”
Rhoades said he believes God is at work throughout his career and life.
“It’s a job, but it’s also a calling,” he said. “It’s a great gift to get up each morning and do this and to work with such great people.
“I am blessed to be at a great institution with wonderful leaders like President (Linda) Livingstone and the Board of Regents. The greatest asset is not the facilities, uniforms or budgets. It’s our people.”
Waco Today highlights people whose good works may otherwise go relatively unnoticed. To submit someone for consideration, email ksury@wacotrib.com.