COLUMBIA, MO. • Ten months ago, Ehren Earleywine figured he was coaching his final season at Missouri, the dream job he first landed a decade ago. His bosses had launched an investigation into allegations that Earleywine had verbally mistreated members of his Mizzou softball team. Athletics director Mack Rhoades had all but told one of the school’s most successful coaches to start clearing out his office.
As the months lingered and Earleywine guided the Tigers to an eighth NCAA regional championship in 10 years, the internal review continued and expanded into a university Title IX investigation.