Baylor's Mack Rhoades wins Athletic Director of the Year at SBAs

The award for Athletic Director of the Year at last night's Sports Business Awards went to Baylor's Mack Rhoades, who took on a reclamation project in '16, when he left the Missouri AD job after a year to join Baylor at a time when the school didn’t look very attractive. They were coming out of a scandal-ridden period that revealed the school mishandled the reporting of sexual assault cases. Now, Rhoades has transformed the athletics department culture and propensity for winning, especially in basketball. Rhoades also has overseen fundraising for the school's new 7,000-seat basketball pavilion, helping generate a $100M anonymous lead gift. "I'm blessed to work with great people, surrounded by great people," Rhoades said in accepting the award. "We have a motto that says, 'Everything counts; everything matters.' So, thank you to everybody, and I certainly wouldn't be here receiving this award without everyone's support." Rhoades' win came in his second nomination for AD of the year.