Baylor, Briles officially part ways, admit 'serious shortcomings'
It's finally over.
After days, weeks, and months of twists and turns in the saga involving Baylor and coach Art Briles, the two parties officially went their separate ways on Friday.
"Baylor University and Art Briles have mutually agreed to terminate their employment relationship, effective immediately," the school and coach said in a joint statement. "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. Baylor is addressing these shortcomings and making ongoing improvements.
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"Baylor wishes Coach Briles well in his future endeavors. Coach Briles expresses his thanks to the City of Waco and wishes the Baylor Bears success in the future."
Briles was at the forefront of the school's alleged sexual-assault scandal that has hung over the school all offseason. Briles and various other school administrators have been accused of turning a blind eye to allegations of sexual violence against numerous football players over several years.
Recently, Briles was accused of no-showing a scheduled meeting with an alleged sexual assault victim, where he was supposed to apologize to the woman.
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Baylor suspended Briles on May 27 with "intent to terminate," but the 60-year-old had not officially been removed from the institution until Friday.
Briles and the university reportedly came to a contract settlement on June 17. Briles had approximately $40 million remaining on his contract, though it's unknown how much the school agreed to pay him.
Briles, who was replaced at the helm of the Bears by Jim Grobe on an interim basis, went 65-37 in eight years with the program.