The College Football Playoff Selection Committee just announced its newest members, and with that came the appointment of Baylor Athletics Director Mack Rhoades as the new chairman.
Thanks to the internet’s ability to never forget, an old quote from Rhoades has resurfaced—and Texas fans are not going to love it.
Back in August 2021, when Texas and Oklahoma announced that they'd be moving to the SEC, Rhoades had some thoughts.
“Many of my colleagues around the country believe that the University of Texas created this situation because they think so highly of themselves. My humble opinion: I completely disagree. I think it’s because they felt too little of themselves," he said.
Baylor AD Mack Rhoades: "Many of my colleagues around the country believe that the University of Texas created this situation because they think so highly of themselves."
— Max Olson (@max_olson) August 2, 2021
"My humble opinion: I completely disagree. I think it's because they felt too little of themselves."
Essentially, Rhoades was making the argument that Texas wouldn't need the SEC if the Longhorns were as good as their fans say they are.
Regardless of if you agree with Rhoades' take or not — and he certainly has a point — that’s not exactly the kind of unbiased quotes you'd like to see from someone who now holds a major role in determining playoff rankings. And now, the guy who took a shot at Texas for jumping ship is going to be sitting in the big chair, helping decide their fate if they’re in the mix for the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Look, no one is pretending that the College Football Playoff committee has ever been free of bias. Every year, fans gripe about certain teams getting favorable treatment while others get snubbed. Just last year, it felt like the committee was about to make a move that would've been detrimental to the sport by allowing three-loss Alabama to get in over a two-loss SMU team that had just played for its conference championship Ultimately, that didn't happen, but you can see clear biases each passing season with the committee, nonetheless.
But this situation is unique because Rhoades’ comment wasn’t just some behind-closed-doors whisper—it was a public jab at a program that will now be under his committee’s microscope. Now, both Oklahoma and Texas — assuming they are in the mix for the CFP — will be watching this very carefully.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Rhoades will likely be totally fair in his evaluations, but you better believe that if there’s even a hint of Texas getting a raw deal in the rankings, this quote is going to be thrown right back in Rhoades’ face.