PORTALES, N.M. — Art Briles was hired as football coach at Eastern New Mexico on Monday, getting his first college head coaching job since Baylor fired the two-time Big 12 champion more than nine years ago after a review of the university’s handling of sexual assault allegations made against several football players.

“Very excited, very grateful, very happy,” Briles said during his introduction at the NCAA Division II school that plays in the Lone Star Conference. “It’s a great moment for me, I hope it’s a great moment for this university. I’m extremely excited to start this journey, this new chapter, in our lives.”

An external investigation revealed in May 2016 that Baylor had, for years, mishandled numerous sexual assault allegations by students, including some against football players. Briles has said that he didn’t cover up reports of assaults by his players. An NCAA infractions report in 2021 criticized him for failing to look into horrific and potentially criminal allegations, but he was cleared of any NCAA violations.

When asked how his perspective has changed 10 years after his last college season, Briles responded, “I think I’m certainly a lot more knowledgeable about every situation.”

“Really, I’m just more concerned about the next chapter and not the last chapter,” he said. “I’ve kind of learned through the process that a lot of times less said is best said because a lot of times, if you say stuff, it can be construed however anybody wants to look at it.”

Briles, who turns 70 next month, was hired as offensive coordinator at Grambling State in 2022, but stepped down less than a week later, saying he didn’t want to be a distraction at the prominent HBCU. Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson had attempted to hire Briles as the program’s OC in 2019, but the university administration eventually vetoed the move.

After coaching professional football in Italy, Briles returned to Texas and was the head coach at Mount Vernon High School for two seasons (2019-20).

The athletic director at Eastern New Mexico is Kevin Fite, who was the associate AD for compliance and eligibility at Houston when Briles was coach there before going to Baylor. Briles had a 34-28 record at Houston from 2003 to 2007, then was 65-37 with the Bears from 2008 to 2015.

Fite said he and Briles are committed to working together to create the best possible experience for players and the student and university community.

“That will involve winning,” Fite said. “That winning will do a lot for this campus and its students. I understand that this is a unique and surprising hire.”

Eastern New Mexico just completed its second consecutive 3-8 season. The Greyhounds fired coach Kelley Lee, who was 32-34 in his six seasons over two stints (2017-19 and 2023-25).

Fite said he heard from many current and former coaches and ADs, and even pastors, in support of Briles.

“I trust him to lead this football program with a high amount of integrity,” he said. “What I would want our university community to understand is that I know Art Biles. I know his family. I know his commitment to impacting the lives of young people. I know he is a tremendous leader. I know that he has changed the lives of many of his players in a very positive way. I know his former players and co-workers love him. I know he is a winner.”

The university is located about 250 miles from Briles’ hometown of Rule, Texas.

Baylor paid Briles more than $15 million after firing him. He later acknowledged making mistakes and apologized for “some bad things” that happened under his watch.

Briles’ son-in-law, Jeff Lebby, is Mississippi State’s head coach. His son, Kendal, is the offensive coordinator at TCU.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Art Briles is set to become the next coach at Eastern New Mexico, a Division II program, as he makes his return to college football after nearly a decade, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Sunday night, confirming a report.

Briles, 69, has not worked at a college program since being fired as Baylor’s head coach in 2016 following a review of the university’s handling of sexual assault allegations made against several football players. He since has had stints coaching for Guelfi Firenze in the Italian Football League and at Mount Vernon High School in Texas from 2019 to 2020.

In 2022, Grambling State attempted to hire Briles as offensive coordinator, but following a backlash, he told the school just four days later that he would not pursue the role, saying he didn’t want to be a distraction to the team. A similar situation occurred in 2017 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, who tried to hire Briles but then pulled their offer on the same day amid backlash.

Eastern New Mexico athletic director Kevin Fite served as associate athletic director for compliance and eligibility at Houston when Briles served as the school’s head coach. Briles, who built his reputation as an offensive innovator at Texas high schools before entering the college ranks, went 99-65 as the coach at Baylor and Houston with three conference titles. He led Baylor to 10 or more wins in four of his final five seasons there.

Several months after his firing from Baylor, Briles, in an interview with ESPN, apologized for what happened under his watch of the program.

“I understand that I made some mistakes, and for that I’m sorry,” he said then. “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 going to learn. I’m going to do better.’”

In 2023, a federal judge ruled that Briles was not negligent in a case involving a female Baylor student who reported being physically assaulted by one of the school’s football players in 2014. Briles, who led Baylor’s program from 2008 to 2015, received a $15.1 million settlement from Baylor, which fired him with eight years remaining on his contract.

Mark Berman, former sports director at KRIV Fox 26 in Houston, first reported the news of Briles’ hiring at Eastern New Mexico.

When it comes to championship racing, timing is everything.

New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel certainly knew this heading into the NCAA Cross Country Championships at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri, on Saturday.

Making matters more pressing, though, was the fact that the University of New Mexico junior had finished second at nationals over the prior two seasons—in 2024, in fact, he lost one of his spikes and still finished second overall.

This time, though, he didn’t want to leave a doubt.

And that’s exactly what Samuel did, unleashing a spectacular move with 1,500 meters left to pull away from the field and claim his first individual win in a time of 28:33.9 over 10,000 meters. Meters from the finish, Samuel drew out his arms and weaved his way to the finish, soaking in the moment.

“I said to my coach, ‘I’m going to surprise you guys today,’” Samuel told reporters afterward. “I wanted to be patient. I understood the game and made a good decision.”

Samuel’s 1,000-meter split over the ninth kilometer was 2:37.4, a time that equals out to a 4:13 mile. That surge mattered in the long run, because it put distance between him and his competition. In fact, it put him three seconds on Wake Forest’s Rocky Hansen and Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau, and four seconds on Oklahoma State’s Denis Kipngetich and five on Washington State’s Solomon Kipchoge.

“I kind of planned on not coming with the guys through 400 (meters) or something,” Samuel said. “I know some guys at 1,500, maybe they gonna kick me out, so I prefer to just run longer and just run hard. That was my plan.”

Hansen, the first American collegian to finish and one of just two inside the top 10, was second in 28:38, while Kipchoge was third in 28:40.1. Musau was fourth, while Oklahoma State’s Fouad Messaoudi and Kipngetich were fifth and sixth.

All were vying for the win down the stretch.

How The Men’s NCAA Cross Country Championships Shook Out

It wasn’t all bad news for the Oklahoma State men, though.

The Cowboys totaled a low of 57 points, winning their second championship since 2023 under head coach Dave Smith.

The win was also a bit of validation for the 19-year head coach, who in the days leading up to the championship was involved in a somewhat heated discussion about the use of international athletes on NCAA rosters.

In a story by the Desert News that published before NCAAs, BYU coach Ed Eyestone commented on the proliferation of overseas companies specializing in the signing of African runners to U.S. colleges for fees, saying “I always felt I’d be embarrassed to have seven foreigners on the team.”

Oklahoma State’s top four runners on Saturday were recruited and signed internationally, while its fifth, senior Ryan Schoppe, joined the Cowboys from a Texas high school in 2020.

Smith was apparently not happy with the comment and countered in a pre-race press conference.

“I have no problem with anybody running their program within the rules and doing things the way they should be done,” Smith said. “If I believe that someone doesn’t like a rule or doesn’t like a situation in the NCAA, don’t b**** about it. Go change it. Get involved. Get involved in the sport. Get involved in leadership and make change the way change is supposed to be made. Otherwise, shut up and coach your team. That’s what I think about this stuff.”

Elsewhere, New Mexico’s men slotted in second overall in the team race with 82 points, while one of the pre-race favorites, Iowa State, was third with 158 points. Syracuse and Oregon were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Doris Lemngole, Jane Hedengren Battle In Women’s NCAA Cross Country Championships

In the women’s race, a two-way battle emerged between defending NCAA champion Doris Lemngole and BYU star freshman Jane Hedengren.

After leading for the first half of the race, Hedengren succumbed to Lemngole’s press at about the 3,000-meter mark, though she stayed on the runner’s hip almost until the near end.

It wasn’t until the final last meters–about less than 800 meters to go–that the 23-year-old Lemngole finally began to leg past Hedengren.

The Alabama junior went on to claim her second straight national title over 6,000 meters, this time crossing the line in 18:25.4. She’s the first repeat champion since Villanova’s Sheila Reid in 2010 and 2011.

Hedengren was vying to become the first freshman since Suzie Tuffey in 1985 to win a national cross-country title.

Florida senior Hilda Olemomoi was third in 18:46.4, while BYU’s Riley Chamberlain was fourth in 18:47.0.

The NC State Women Win Their Fifth Cross Country Title Since 2021

Next brought home NC State’s title run.

Between Hannah Gapes and Grace Hartman, who finished fifth and sixth, the two juniors led the Wolfpack to their fifth national title since 2021 under head coach Laurie Henes.

NC State, which nabbed a three-peat from 2021-2023, scored 114 points and outlasted BYU’s own bid for a repeat.

The Cougars were second with 130 points, securing their fifth first- or second-place finish since 2019 under head coach Diljeet Taylor.

Oregon was third overall with 153 points, while New Mexico was fourth and Florida fifth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.