Rhoades Named 2020 Under Armour AD of the Year

March 3, 2020

Media Contacts: David Kaye, Baylor Athletic Communications, 254-709-5147, and Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-710-6275
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WACO, Texas (March 3, 2020) – Baylor University Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack B. Rhoades IV has been selected as a recipient of the Under Armour AD of the Year Award for 2019-20, announced today by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges). Winners will be recognized June 9 during NACDA’s 55th Annual Convention at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“The future of our industry continues to look bright with athletics leaders like these at the helm of departments across the country,” said Bob Vecchione, NACDA’s chief executive officer. “Out of our 28 ADOY winners, 22 are receiving this honor for the first time in their careers. It is exciting and inspiring to see the new faces coming up through the ranks and earning well-deserved recognition for their efforts on their campuses.”

The ADOY Award highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities.

Rhoades has led Baylor’s department of intercollegiate athletics since July 2016. His service to Baylor is centered on his vision of “Preparing Champions for Life,” which seeks to enrich the student-athlete experience by focusing on the areas of academic achievement, athletic success, character formation and spiritual growth.

“Mack has achieved remarkable success in leading our athletics program to arguably its greatest heights in school history, and his example of values-based leadership has aligned with our University mission and uplifted the entire Baylor community,” said Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D. “During the almost four years Mack has served as our vice president and director of athletics, he has been the guiding force behind the incredible success of our entire athletics department and an exceptional member of my leadership team.”

Rhoades’s leadership has been instrumental to success in a number of areas:

• Baylor Football playing in the Big 12 Championship Game and the 2020 Allstate Sugar Bowl and Women’s Volleyball winning the Big 12 Championship, earning a No. 1 national ranking and reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in the fall of 2019.

• Advancing 17 of Baylor’s 19 intercollegiate teams to postseason play in 2018-19, including an NCAA Championship in Women’s Basketball and a fifth consecutive national title in Acrobatics & Tumbling in the spring of 2019.

• Winning six Big 12 team championships in 2018-19: Soccer (regular season), Men’s Golf (match play), Women’s Basketball (regular season and tournament), Equestrian (tournament) and Men’s Tennis (tournament).

• Leading national searches for four head coaching positions, ultimately bringing to the Baylor campus Matt Rhule (football) in 2016, Casie Maxwell (equestrian) in 2017, Brian Boland (men’s tennis) in 2018 and Dave Aranda (football) in 2020.

• A school record-tying four Baylor student-athletes being named Big 12 Scholar Athletes of the Year for their respective sports in 2018-19, tied for most in the conference.

• A 3.25 cumulative GPA for Baylor student-athletes in 2018-19.

• Leading the Big 12 in Graduation Success Rate for the fifth straight year in 2018-19.

• Overseeing the completion of several key athletics facilities and the planning for those to come, including the Billy W. Williams Golf Practice Facility and Clubhouse, the newest addition to the University’s athletic facilities, in November 2018 and the upcoming Football Operations Center and Baylor Basketball Pavilion, partially funded by a $100 million gift received in May 2019.

“From the first day that Mack Rhoades joined Baylor as vice president and director of athletics, he has established a standard of excellence and leadership that has elevated Baylor Athletics into the upper echelon of the Big 12 Conference and NCAA intercollegiate athletics programs overall,” said Jerry K. Clements, Chair of the Baylor University Board of Regents. “He has directed several key initiatives in the past year, including developing a master plan for future facilities and the creation of Baylor Built, a comprehensive, four-year student-athlete development program.”

Under Armour is now in its 12th year of sponsoring the award and over 276 different athletics directors have been honored with the award during that time. Rhoades is joined by his peers at two other Texas-based institutions, Southern Methodist University and Texas A&M University-Commerce, as winners of this year’s Under Armour AD of the Year Award. A list of his most recent accomplishments at Baylor is available online on the Baylor Athletics website.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 18,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.