Art Briles Comments on Baylor Head Coaching Tenure

A little over three months after being fired by Baylor, Art Briles has issued an apology for the actions of student-athletes during his tenure as head football coach. 

Briles told ESPN's Tom Rinaldi:

"

I made mistakes. I did wrong, but I'm not doing this trying to make myself feel better for apologizing. I understand I made some mistakes. There were some bad things that went on under my watch. I was the captain of this ship. The captain of the ship goes down with it.

So, I understand that I made some mistakes, and for that I'm sorry. But I'm not trying to plead for people's sympathy. I'm just stating that, 'Hey, I made some mistakes. I was wrong. I'm sorry. I'm gonna learn. I'm gonna do better.

"

Briles, 60, was dismissed May 26 after an investigation found he and other university officials failed to take proper action after multiple players were accused of sexual assault. He and the school later came to a financial settlement that recategorized his departure as "mutual." 

"Both parties acknowledge that there were serious shortcomings in the response to reports of sexual violence by some student-athletes, including deficiencies in University processes and the delegation of disciplinary responsibilities with the football program," a joint statement read, per Baylor's website. "Baylor is addressing these shortcomings and making ongoing improvements."

A February Outside the Lines investigation uncovered the counts of multiple women who reported they were raped, only to be ignored by school officials or met with resistance. Five women wound up filing Title IX lawsuits against the school, two of which were related to alleged sexual assaults by football players.

Former defensive ends Tevin Elliott and Sam Ukwuachu have both been convicted of sexual assault. 

Baylor retained the law firm Pepper Hamilton to investigate the school's culture, which found "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."

Baylor president Kenneth Starr and athletic director Ian McCaw also left the school in the controversy's aftermath.

Briles went 65-37 in eight seasons as Baylor coach, including three bowl wins. He holds a 99-65 overall coaching record, having previously spent five years at Houston. ESPN.com's Chris Low reported most people within college football circles believe Briles will be back on a sideline in 2017. He said he plans to return next season.

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