(KXXV) — Art Briles, former Baylor football coach, was hired to be the next coach at Eastern New Mexico, a Division II program - making his return to college football after nearly a decade.
"I am excited to welcome Art to Eastern New Mexico University," Eastern New Mexico athletic director Kevin Fite said in a statement Monday. "He is an excellent coach, and I look forward to the future of Greyhound football."
Briles was fired in 2016 after a review of the university's handling of sexual assault allegations made against several football players.
In an interview with ESPN several months after his firing, Briles said that he's apologized for what has happened under his watch of the football 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.'"
According to an ESPN report, 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.
