The Big 12 Board of Directors voted to withhold 25 percent of future revenue distribution until changes are made at the school, the conference announced Wednesday. The conference also announced that it would hold the money until a third-party completes a review of the changes made regarding the school’s Title IX Office and its procedures.
“The Board is unified in establishing a process to verify that proper institutional controls are in place and sustainable,” said University of Oklahoma president and Big 12 board of directors chairman David Boren said in a statement. “Effective immediately, the Conference is withholding 25 percent of Baylor’s share of any future revenue distribution until the proper execution of controls is independently verified.”
This is the first action of any kind by the Big 12 or the NCAA regarding the fallout from the sexual assault scandal at the school. It does not mean that Baylor University would ever see that money come in.
FWIW, I'm told this isn't a penalty. Money will be held in escrow pending completion/result of the audit.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) February 8, 2017
Per CBS Sports, Baylor University received about $30 million in revenue for the 2015-16 academic year. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsbyalso told CBS Sports that Baylor has already received about $10 million for the current school year (2016-17) and that the university would lose about $6 million this year because the money is distributed through a fiscal year.
Baylor interim president David Garland responded to the move in a statement saying in part that they “welcome the Big 12 Conference’s request for an independent review.” Garland also said that he does not expect the withholding of funds to impact the university as a whole.
The following is the full statement from President Garland.
Upon learning the scope and scale of the troubling incidents that occurred within our campus community through an independent investigation, Baylor University took unprecedented corrective actions that led to leadership changes within the University administration and athletic department and 105 recommendations to strengthen the safety and security of our students. No other university in the country has responded as aggressively and decisively as Baylor regarding incidents of sexual assaults on its campus.
Under the University’s new leadership, Baylor has demonstrated a firm commitment to athletics compliance and integrity, increased awareness and prevention of sexual assault, implementation of Title IX best practices and providing comprehensive support services for any student in need of them. Baylor already had planned to hire an outside auditor to audit the implementation of our enhanced practices, and we welcome the Big 12 Conference’s request of an independent review. While the withholding of conference distributions is an unexpected financial event, we do not deem these actions to materially impact the overall financial position of the University. We pledge our full cooperation, and we will work with the Big 12 Conference to conduct the audit as expeditiously as possible.
This third-party review at the request of the Big 12 Conference will provide an opportunity for us to demonstrate our progress to date and our ongoing commitment in establishing Baylor as a leading institution in athletics compliance and governance and for preventing and addressing sexual assaults on college campuses.
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