Briles, Starr got millions after leaving Baylor

WACO, Texas — Former football coach Art Briles received $15.1 million from Baylor University after it fired him in 2016 in the wake of a sexual assault scandal that included allegations by former players and rocked his program, according to newly released tax documents.

Former president Ken Starr received $4.52 million from the university after he resigned that same year. His departure followed a scathing report that found that the nation’s largest Baptist university did little to respond to sexual assault accusations involving members of its vaunted football program.

The dollar figures surfaced in annual required tax filings to the IRS and were reported by The Dallas Morning News and Waco Tribune-Herald. The settlement figures had not previously been disclosed.

Former Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw received $761,059 — essentially one year’s salary — upon his resignation. McCaw is now the athletic director at Liberty University.

Briles, 61, was fired after an investigation by the Pepper Hamilton law firm found that over several years the school mishandled numerous sexual assault allegations, including some against football players. The Pepper Hamilton review also led to the departures of Starr and McCaw.

Pepper Hamilton produced a 13-page “findings of fact” that states that the football staff conducted inquiries into sexual assaults by players and did not report them to the administration. School administrators also encouraged victims to not report complaints, the report indicated.

Later, school regents said 17 women had reported sexual and domestic assaults involving 19 players — including four gang rapes — since 2011. One lawsuit, since settled, alleged 52 acts of rape by 31 players between 2011 and 2014.

Briles has acknowledged making mistakes and apologized for some “bad things that went on under my watch.” He has also pushed back against some accusations made against him and his program in lawsuits and made clear he wanted to return to coaching. He has not landed a full-time coaching job since leaving Baylor.

Baylor has settled federal Title IX lawsuits against the school related to the sexual assault scandal and previously settled with three women who hadn’t sued.

In a statement Friday, Baylor said it “stands by the unprecedented corrective actions the Board of Regents made in May of 2016, which included leadership changes within the university administration and athletic department and the acceptance of 105 recommendations to improve our processes, communication, training and response related to incidents of sexual violence within our campus community.”