By Dan GrafMay 26, 2016 at 11:51a ET
Baylor football coach Art Briles, under fire for his program's handling of several sexual assault allegations dating back to 2009, will be dismissed by the school.
✔@BruceFeldmanCFB
BREAKING: #Baylor is firing head coach Art Briles, source tells@FoxSports. 1st reported by Craig Smoak.
Briles, 60, was 65-37 in eight seasons at Baylor and had led the Bears to at least 10 victories in four of the past five seasons. Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett reportedly will be named interim head coach.
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Pat Forde
✔@YahooForde
Baylor expected to make defensive coordinator Phil Bennett interim coach, per source. Kendall Briles to remain on stafff11:56 AM - 26 May 2016
Last fall – prompted by Baylor defensive lineman Sam Ukwuachu’s sexual assault conviction -- the school hired a Philadelphia law firm, Pepper Hamilton, to investigate the university’s handling of the history of allegations, and it was expected to respond publicly to that firm's recently completed findings by June 3.
It beat that deadline by issuing a statement Thursday that announced Briles has been suspended with intent to terminate and that athletic director Ian McCaw has been sanctioned and placed on probation. In addition, university president Ken Starr, who was the subject of reports that he’d be fired earlier this week, will be transitioning to the role of chancellor and is being replaced on an interim basis by Dr. David Garland.
Baylor also has made contact with the NCAA "to initially discuss potential infractions and to offer full cooperation with any resulting investigation."
The school listed significant failures in its response to the Pepper Hamilton report:
• The University's student conduct processes were wholly inadequate to consistently provide a prompt and equitable response under Title IX; Baylor failed to consistently support complainants through the provision of interim measures; and in some cases, the University failed to take action to identify and eliminate a potential hostile environment, prevent its recurrence or address its effects.
• Actions by University administrators directly discouraged some complainants from reporting or participating in student conduct processes and in one instance constituted retaliation against a complainant for reporting sexual assault.
• In addition to broader University failings, Pepper found specific failings within both the football program and Athletics department leadership, including a failure to identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player and to a report of dating violence.
• There are significant concerns about the tone and culture within Baylor's football program as it relates to accountability for all forms of student athlete misconduct.
• Over the course of their review, Pepper investigated the University's response to reports of a sexual assault involving multiple football players. The football program and Athletics department leadership failed to take appropriate action in response to these reports.
“We were horrified by the extent of these acts of sexual violence on our campus. This investigation revealed the University's mishandling of reports in what should have been a supportive, responsive and caring environment for students,” Richard Willis, chair of the Baylor Board of Regents, said in a statement. “The depth to which these acts occurred shocked and outraged us. Our students and their families deserve more, and we have committed our full attention to improving our processes, establishing accountability and ensuring appropriate actions are taken to support former, current and future students.”
Baylor football coach Art Briles, under fire for his program's handling of several sexual assault allegations dating back to 2009, will be dismissed by the school.
✔@BruceFeldmanCFB
BREAKING: #Baylor is firing head coach Art Briles, source tells@FoxSports. 1st reported by Craig Smoak.
Briles, 60, was 65-37 in eight seasons at Baylor and had led the Bears to at least 10 victories in four of the past five seasons. Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett reportedly will be named interim head coach.
Follow
Pat Forde ✔@YahooForde
Baylor expected to make defensive coordinator Phil Bennett interim coach, per source. Kendall Briles to remain on stafff11:56 AM - 26 May 2016
Last fall – prompted by Baylor defensive lineman Sam Ukwuachu’s sexual assault conviction -- the school hired a Philadelphia law firm, Pepper Hamilton, to investigate the university’s handling of the history of allegations, and it was expected to respond publicly to that firm's recently completed findings by June 3.
It beat that deadline by issuing a statement Thursday that announced Briles has been suspended with intent to terminate and that athletic director Ian McCaw has been sanctioned and placed on probation. In addition, university president Ken Starr, who was the subject of reports that he’d be fired earlier this week, will be transitioning to the role of chancellor and is being replaced on an interim basis by Dr. David Garland.
Baylor also has made contact with the NCAA "to initially discuss potential infractions and to offer full cooperation with any resulting investigation."
The school listed significant failures in its response to the Pepper Hamilton report:
• The University's student conduct processes were wholly inadequate to consistently provide a prompt and equitable response under Title IX; Baylor failed to consistently support complainants through the provision of interim measures; and in some cases, the University failed to take action to identify and eliminate a potential hostile environment, prevent its recurrence or address its effects.
• Actions by University administrators directly discouraged some complainants from reporting or participating in student conduct processes and in one instance constituted retaliation against a complainant for reporting sexual assault.
• In addition to broader University failings, Pepper found specific failings within both the football program and Athletics department leadership, including a failure to identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player and to a report of dating violence.
• There are significant concerns about the tone and culture within Baylor's football program as it relates to accountability for all forms of student athlete misconduct.
• Over the course of their review, Pepper investigated the University's response to reports of a sexual assault involving multiple football players. The football program and Athletics department leadership failed to take appropriate action in response to these reports.
“We were horrified by the extent of these acts of sexual violence on our campus. This investigation revealed the University's mishandling of reports in what should have been a supportive, responsive and caring environment for students,” Richard Willis, chair of the Baylor Board of Regents, said in a statement. “The depth to which these acts occurred shocked and outraged us. Our students and their families deserve more, and we have committed our full attention to improving our processes, establishing accountability and ensuring appropriate actions are taken to support former, current and future students.”
