Sources: AD Mack Rhoades leaves Mizzou for Baylor
— -- Missouri Tigers athletic director Mack Rhoades will become the new AD at Baylor, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
Rhoades will replace Ian McCaw, who resigned on May 30 amid controversy over the school's handling of sexual assault allegations.
Rhoades' departure from Missouri was first reported by PowerMizzou.com.
The 50-year-old Rhoades took the AD job at Missouri in March 2015, replacing longtime AD Mike Alden. Prior to that, Rhoades was the AD at the University of Houston since 2009.
His stint at Missouri came during a tumultuous period for the Tigers. University president and chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced his resignation in November amid criticism of their handling of student complaints about race and discrimination.
Football coach Gary Pinkel resigned at the end of the 2015 season due to health issues, and Rhoades promoted defensive coordinator Barry Odom to replace Pinkel.
"In college athletics, it's very seldom that you get to work for the same guy for a number of years and we never know when it's going to happen, hopefully it never does," Odom said Wednesday. "That's life. I'm pretty confident in what we're going to do as a football program and look forward to leading us the right way. ...
"Guys are presented different opportunities and they have to make the best decision for what's best for them. I feel good about Mizzou and where we're headed."
Missouri softball coach Ehren Earleywine is the subject of an ongoing internal Title IX investigation for allegations of verbally abusing players.
Additionally, Missouri's men's basketball program is coming off a self-imposed one-year postseason ban after a 19-month investigation of former coach Frank Haith and his staff uncovered several NCAA rules violations.
Rhoades will bring a familiarity with the landscape in the state of Texas to his job at Baylor. He previously served as AD at Houston for five years and worked at UTEP for seven years before becoming AD at Akron in 2006.
Houston moved to the American Athletic Conference, raised nearly $100 million and built $160 million worth of new facilities during Rhoades' tenure, including the on-campus TDECU Stadium for UH football. He was also responsible for hiring football coach Tom Herman, who led the Cougars to a 13-1 season and Peach Bowl victory in his first year.
McCaw, who had served as Baylor's athletic director since 2003, had been sanctioned and put on probation as part of the school's response to the findings of the independent Pepper Hamilton investigation. He elected to resign rather than being retained to help implement the recommendations that came with that report and restore accountability and oversight to the athletic department.
Baylor's program has been rocked by allegations of sexual assault and other violence involving several players. As a result, the board of regents suspended former football coach Art Briles with intent to terminate and stripped chancellor Kenneth Starr of his title of university president.
Former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is currently the Bears' interim football coach.
ESPN staff writers Max Olson and Edward Aschoff contributed to this report.
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