Arizona State received a recommendation letter from Baylor’s athletic director in support of Phil Bennett before hiring Bennett as its defensive coordinator.
Bennett was Baylor’s defensive coordinator from 2011-16, during which incidents of sexual violence and harassment led to the firing of head football coach Art Briles, resignation of Athletic Director Ian McCaw and re-assignment of President Ken Starr, who later fully separated his ties with Baylor.
A federal lawsuit filed Friday against Baylor alleges at least 52 rapes by more than 30 football players over a four-year period. Bennett has not been named in lawsuits or in a report released last May by the Baylor Board of Regents from an outside firm’s investigation into the sexual-assault cases.