Baylor's Rhule: 'We're not running from the past, we're learning from it'

Before he took a single question Tuesday, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule addressed the large, dark cloud that may never cease to hang over the university's football program.

"We're not running from the past, we're learning from it," Rhule said in an opening statement at Big 12 Media Days, according to USA TODAY Sports' Dan Wolken. "We're committed to getting the wrongs of the past corrected."

The Bears have been bogged down for more than a year by a sexual assault scandal that exploded last summer and resulted in sweeping changes across the school's athletic department.

Rhule came aboard this year after a successful four-year tenure at Temple, and has vowed to restore the program's reputation as best he can.

"We're trying to make sure our kids know what it means to be a man," he said, according to Adam Grosbard of the Dallas Morning News.

Rhule added that he's been open and honest with prospective recruits about the progress Baylor has made in recent months.

The Bears lost their last six regular-season games in 2016 before picking up a Cactus Bowl win over Boise State to finish the year with a 7-6 record. They played the season under interim coach Jim Grobe, who was brought in on a one-year contract following the dismissal of Art Briles.