Baylor Donors and Alumni Form Nonprofit to Overhaul Board of Regents

[Updated (11/7/2016, 3:56 p.m.) with comment from the university.]

Baylor University donors and alumni are starting a nonprofit group to demand an overhaul of the institution’s Board of Regents and call for details about an investigation of Baylor’s response to sexual-assault allegations, ESPN reported on Monday.

The group, Bears for Leadership Reform, formed after some members of the board said that Art Briles, Baylor’s former football coach, did not properly report an alleged gang rape as well as complaints from 17 women who said they had been sexually or physically assaulted by 19 players since 2011.

For months Baylor has been criticized for a lack of transparency about the sexual-assault investigation, which toppled the university’s leadership and shocked the campus. And last week Baylor debuted a new website, The Facts, to take on its critics about how it has handled reports of sexual assaults.

Bears for Leadership Reform is also demanding the release of any documents related to the law firm Pepper Hamilton’s findings from its investigation. In May a summary of the findings said that the university had violated the federal gender-equity law known as Title IX and that the football program had failed to hold players accountable for their misconduct.

According to ESPN, the new group has some 20 directors and 100 other advisers, and has raised about $350,000 to finance its work.

Baylor released a statement Monday afternoon on the new group that said, in part, that Baylor’s administration and board “look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue about meaningful reform.” The statement also said the university agreed with the group on the need “to be transparent and accountable.”