Baylor fired coach Dave Aranda on Sunday after more than six seasons and promoted defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Aranda's dismissal came a day after Baylor lost to Kansas 25-24 to fall to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks earned their first win over Baylor since 2007, ending a 14-game losing skid to the Bears when Blake Herold blocked a field-goal attempt in the final minute.
Aranda took over the Baylor program in 2020 after serving as defensive coordinator on LSU's undefeated 2019 national championship team.
He led the Bears to the Big 12 championship and a Sugar Bowl victory in 2021, but he couldn't maintain that success. Baylor has just one winning season since then, and Aranda leaves with a 40-40 record.
Aranda had been under pressure to turn things around in his seventh season. Part of that effort was hiring Klanderman from Kansas State to take over the defensive play-calling. The Bears also signed quarterback DJ Lagway, the Florida transfer from Texas whose dad, Derek Lagway, was a Baylor running back a quarter-century ago.
Not long after the Big 12 championship, Aranda had his contract extended through 2029. According to multiple reports, his buyout is $12 million. Baylor is a private school that isn't required to release contract details.
Aranda was under fire during the season last year, when former athletic director Mack Rhoades resigned for personal reasons. At the time, university president Linda Livingstone said the school was keeping Aranda in 2026, while saying that a review of the football program had been underway and that she understood the decision to keep him would "generate strong opinions.”
Doug McNamee, Rhoades' replacement, called the decision to fire Aranda a “difficult moment.”
"Anyone who knows Dave Aranda understands what a genuine and honorable person he is and how much he deeply cares for his players, staff and this university,” McNamee said. “He is a gifted coach and a brilliant football mind whose leadership brought some of our best Baylor football memories. While this is a difficult moment, we believe a change in leadership is necessary at this time for our program."
Baylor plays at UCF, which on Saturday knocked off then-No. 2 BYU 39-31 in double overtime, on Friday.
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FILE - Baylor head coach Dave Aranda walks on the field during a timeout during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game against Cincinnati, Oct. 25, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson, File)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilians were voting in Sunday’s polarizing presidential runoff between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, a contest that will determine whether the U.S. will significantly expand its growing influence in Latin America.
A win for Bolsonaro would signify a pivot to the right by Latin America’s most populous country and its largest economy, in a year when Trump allies have scored victories in Chile, Peru and Colombia. A victory for Lula would leave Brazil and Mexico with left-of-center leaders.
Polls showed the two candidates, who need more than 50% of the vote to become Brazil’s next leader in January, in a neck-and-neck race. The election pits the left-of-center veteran politician Lula against Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and the son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Shortly after polls closed, Brazilian Supreme Court justice Cristiano Zanin ruled to extend voting nationwide for two hours. The ruling came after both presidential candidates had asked the electoral court to extend voting hours in some cities. Lula’s request came after issues in nine states with buses that provide transportation to polls. Bolsonaro’s request was due to heavy rains in Brazil’s south.
The extension threatened to cause logistical problems with some polls likely having closed before they got the order to stay open.
In Brasilia, volunteers who oversaw the vote count at a school debated whether they needed to stay after the announcement to extend voting, but most left 15 to 20 minutes after polls closed and they had given count information to electoral authorities. At a polling station in Rio de Janeiro, the voting machines had already been switched off minutes after polls were set to close and couldn’t be turned back on.
Bolsonaro bested Lula by more than 2.2 million votes in the first round of the election earlier this month. However, more than 33 million voters out of nearly 160 million did not turn out.
Bolsonaro and Lula have opposing ideological views on issues ranging from U.S.-Brazil relations and climate change to social welfare.
In many ways, Brazil’s runoff vote is another tight rematch between the country’s two polarized political forces that trigger passion as much as loathing. Four years ago, Lula beat Bolsonaro’s father by the narrowest margin since the country’s return to democracy in 1985.
Lula, who first governed Brazil between 2003 and 2010, has faced a tough reelection battle because of concerns about the cost of living and security. Bolsonaro made a tough-on-crime approach the cornerstone of his campaign and pledged to bring down food costs while Lula, trying to lure undecided voters, has invested in costly incentives.
Both have been hit by corruption suspicions involving family members and allies, with Bolsonaro implicated in a sprawling scandal rocking Brazil. Lula previously spent more than a year in prison on corruption convictions that were eventually annulled.
As Bolsonaro voted at a school in Rio de Janeiro, his supporters shouted “Lula, thief, your place is in prison” while Lula’s supporters chanted in his support.
“The time of real change has arrived,” Bolsonaro said. “Brazil can’t go on for another four years on its current trajectory.”
Lula voters turned out Sunday driven by his history of supporting marginalized people and working to lift Brazilians out of poverty.
“Lula is a man of the people and he knows what it’s like to be poor,” Luzia da Souza, who runs a bar in Rio de Janeiro, said. "I find it impossible not to vote for him.”
Anderson Falcão, a 43-year-old journalist in Brasilia, said he worried about Bolsonaro’s long-term political vision, which he called “exclusionary.”
“It’s a project that harms the less fortunate, harms the worker, women, the forest, the Amazon,” he said.
Bolsonaro voters, many of whom wore yellow and green Brazil jerseys in support of the senator, said they want change.
“Things are really expensive and taxes are too high,” Fabianne Borges Santoro, a 45-year-old physiotherapist in Rio de Janeiro, said. She added that she once voted for Lula’s party but now associates it with corruption.
Kelvin Gomes Pimental, a 28-year-old data analyst in Brasilia, voted for a third-party candidate in the first round, making his vote for Lula a decisive one in this election.
“It’s not even about Flávio himself. It’s also very much about the management of the other Bolsonaro government. He wanted to stage a coup,” he said. “These issues scare me a little.”
Diogo Furtado, a 35-year-old Uber driver in Rio de Janeiro, didn’t vote the first time because of his work, but said he'll vote blank on Sunday. He said that neither candidate convinced him.
“Brazil needs a new candidate,” Furtado said. “But unfortunately our country has become dominated by two names: Lula and Bolsonaro."
In Bahia state, a stronghold for Lula, whose voters tend to live in areas that depend more heavily on buses, at least 75 public buses were prevented from leaving municipal garages Sunday, according to a state electoral judge. He ordered the arrest of the mobility secretary of the capital Salvador, Pablo Souza, in relation to the case.
“We will not be robbed by mayors, governors or businessmen," Lula told press. “These people need to respect democracy.”
The electoral mission for the Organization of American States said in a statement that it is monitoring reports of public transportation issues.
Lula criticized the U.S. president before Brazil's election, speaking about the risks of U.S. intervention in Brazilian elections after the Trump administration imposed high tariffs against Brazilian exports and classified drug-trafficking groups as foreign terrorist organizations. Experts say the moves may have been intended to make Lula look soft on crime.
Flávio Bolsonaro has touted his proximity to the White House and insisted that Brazil needs to strike better deals with the Trump administration, including in the rare minerals economy. Brazil estimates that its deposits hold up to 21 million tons, second only to China. He denies he's being helped by the U.S. government.
Trump said Sunday that he is watching the election but declined to endorse a candidate.
Savarese reported from Sao Paulo. Brigida reported from Brasilia.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro flashes a victory sign as he arrives in Brasilia, Brazil, on the day of the presidential runoff election, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, waves after voting in the presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro and his wife Fernanda Bolsonaro give a thumbs during the runoff presidential election in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izuierdo)
People walk along the beach during the presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Lucas Landau)
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, waves after voting in the presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, wears glasses given to him by a supporter after voting in the presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Voters line up at a polling station during the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, displays a Brazilian flag before voting in a presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Voters line up at a polling station during the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Voters line outside a polling station up during the presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A supporter of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, lines up at a polling station during a presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro and his wife Fernanda Bolsonaro give a thumbs during the runoff presidential election in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Voters wait to cast their ballots during a presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Lucas Landau)
Red T-shirts depicting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, and yellow T-shirts depicting opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro hang for sale outside a building ahead of Brazil's presidential runoff election in Autazes, Amazonas state, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, who is running for reelection, and his running mate Geraldo Alckmin raise their arms in unison at the end of their final campaign rally, a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, center, leaves after his final campaign rally a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Supporters of opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro cheer during his final campaign rally a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Lucas Landau)
A girl standing on a man's shoulders reaches out amid a crowd of supporters of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, during his final campaign rally, a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
