Sports
AD Rhoades exits Baylor, week after taking leave
Baylor on Thursday announced the departure of athletic director Mack Rhoades, effective immediately.
Rhoades, who had been the AD at Baylor since July 2016, suddenly took a leave of absence from the position for personal reasons last week. He told ESPN’s Heather Dinich at the time that he initiated the leave.
“I find myself in a season of life where I need to prioritize my faith and my family with an intentional focus that requires me to move on from my role as caretaker of this great athletics program,” Rhoades said in a statement on Thursday night.
Along with stepping away from Baylor, Rhoades also left his role as chair of the College Football Playoff selection committee.
In a letter to the university announcing the move, Baylor president Linda Livingstone did not give a reason for his departure.
“Since joining Baylor in 2016, Mack has led our athletics program through a period of remarkable rebuilding and achievement,” Livingstone said. “During his tenure, Baylor claimed numerous Big 12 championships, made countless postseason appearances and earned national titles in several sports, including historic wins that will forever be etched in our collective memory. These victories were not just about athletic excellence — they were moments that brought the Baylor Family together, united in joy and spirit.”
Livingstone also commended Rhoades’ influence “beyond the scoreboard,” adding: “Within the Big 12 Conference and across the country, he is widely recognized as a defender of the important role athletics plays on college and university campuses.”
Rhoades is a veteran in the athletic director space, with prior stops as the AD at Missouri, Houston and Akron. His tenure includes the hiring of Matt Rhule and eight national titles, including one for Scott Drew’s men’s basketball program.
The ability to retain Drew and build the proper infrastructure and support around him has been a hallmark of Rhoades’ tenure.
“The incredible community that is the Baylor family is the absolute best of the best,” Rhoades said in his statement. “Together, we won national championships, established records in academics and fundraising, and built world-class facilities. I will forever cherish the memories and friendships I made as a Baylor Bear.”
Rhoades’ tenure included stabilizing the athletic department on the field after the tumultuous and litigious tenure of former football coach Art Briles. The hiring of Rhule pulled the program out of the depths, and current coach Dave Aranda went on to win the Big 12 title in 2021 and beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl that year.
Rhoades’ predecessors as athletic director, Ian McCaw and Tom Stanton, left amid issues surrounding Briles and former basketball coach Dave Bliss, respectively.
It’s the final day of the month, and we have great matches across Europe for you to enjoy!
We kick things off in the Premier League, as the race for the top four becomes tighter. Liverpool needing a win against relegation battlers West Ham United to stay in touch in the fight for a spot in the Champions League next season. Later, we have Leeds United looking to spoil Manchester City‘s title hopes as they host Pep Guardiola’s team at Elland Road.
Elsewhere, in LaLiga, Barcelona look to continue to remain top of the league as they host Levante, and, in the Bundesliga, it’s Der Klassiker as Borussia Dortmund hope to halt Bayern Munich‘s potential title hopes.
Enjoy all the updates from Saturday’s matches.
Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan plays a shot during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup Super Eights match between England and Pakistan at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on February 24, 2026. Photo: AFP
Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan set a new benchmark at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after becoming the highest run-scorer in a single edition of the tournament.
Farhan achieved the milestone during Pakistan’s Super Eight match against Sri Lanka at Pallekele on Saturday, moving past former India captain Virat Kohli, who scored 319 runs in the 2014 edition.
The right-handed opener now leads the run charts with 323* runs, underlining a standout campaign that has included a century and two half-centuries for Pakistan at the T20 World Cup 2026.
Farhan’s consistency at the top of the order has been one of the few certainties for Pakistan in a tightly contested tournament.
Most runs in a single T20 World Cup edition
323 – Sahibzada Farhan, Pakistan (2026)*
319 – Virat Kohli, India (2014)
317 – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka (2009)
303 – Babar Azam, Pakistan (2021)
302 – Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka (2010)
The match also saw Pakistan shatter several records. Farhan and Fakhar Zaman stitched together a 176-run opening partnership — the highest ever for the first wicket in T20 World Cup history.
The pair surpassed the previous record of 175 set by New Zealand’s Tim Seifert and Finn Allen against the United Arab Emirates in Chennai earlier in the tournament.
It was also Pakistan’s highest-ever partnership in T20 World Cup history, eclipsing the unbeaten 152-run stand between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan against India in the 2021 edition.
Inter Miami will visit the White House in March to mark the club’s 2025 MLS Cup triumph, with Argentine superstar Lionel Messi expected to attend, the Miami Herald reported Friday.
The newspaper cited an unnamed Inter Miami source saying “everyone” on the team will attend the ceremony with US President Donald Trump, two days before Inter plays DC United in the US capital on March 7.
Messi, 38, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former president Joe Biden in January 2025, the highest civilian honour in the United States, but did not attend the ceremony at the White House.
Trump’s affinity for soccer has grown in recent months, with multiple meetings with Fifa president Gianni Infantino and a high-profile visit by Cristiano Ronaldo to the White House.
Trump took part in the trophy presentation at the Club World Cup in the United States last year and was on stage at the draw for the 2026 World Cup, where Infantino took the opportunity to award the president the first Fifa peace prize.
Inter Miami wrapped up a slate of international friendlies on Thursday with a 2-1 victory over Independiente del Valle in Puerto Rico.
They fell to Los Angeles FC in their MLS season-opener last weekend and face Orlando City on Sunday.
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