Baylor investigated athletic director and College Football Playoff committee chair Mack Rhoades for allegedly confronting a player during the team’s Sept. 20 game against Arizona State.
Per multiple outlets, Rhoades allegedly took exception to the color of undershirt that tight end Michael Trigg was wearing during the game.
Rhoades, who is currently serving as the chairperson for the College Football Playoff selection committee, is alleged to have taken exception to a gold, long-sleeved undershirt worn by Baylor tight end Michael Trigg during the Bears’ home game against Arizona State on Sept. 20. According to the source, during the first quarter, Rhoades grabbed Trigg by the shirt on the sideline and, while using an expletive, questioned why he was wearing it. The rest of the team was wearing dark-colored undershirts.
Members of the coaching staff, including head coach Dave Aranda and tight ends coach Jarrett Anderson, later had heated words with Rhoades about the incident, the source said. The incident had a lingering impact on Trigg that day, according to the source.
Trigg’s father told the Athletic that his son wanted his parents to talk to Rhoades in the days after the game, but Anderson dealt with the issue on Trigg’s behalf. The tight end was wearing a long sleeve shirt to cover a shoulder brace.
Baylor lost the game 27-24 on a last-second field goal by ASU.
The school confirmed an investigation in a statement but did not provide details. It said that the reports “were thoroughly reviewed and investigated in accordance with University policies, appropriate actions were taken, and the matter is now closed.
Trigg is one of Baylor’s top players. He’s played in all nine games and has 40 catches for 607 yards and six touchdowns. Two of those scores came against ASU as he had five catches for 71 yards. The redshirt senior transferred to Baylor from Ole Miss after the 2023 season. He spent two seasons with the Rebels after starting his career at USC.
Rhoades made his first television appearance as playoff committee chair on Tuesday night to explain the committee’s rationale for its inaugural set of playoff rankings. Rhoades will serve as the face of the 11-person committee in 2025 and is responsible for appearing on every playoff reveal show to field questions about the rankings.
The longtime college athletics administrator has been at Baylor since 2016. Before coming to Waco, he was at Missouri for less than two years and previously worked as Houston’s AD before getting his start as an athletic director at Akron in 2006.
