On Monday, West Virginia University officially announced Wren Baker to be the 13th Director of Athletics in school history.
“Our student-athletes, their success and well-being will be at the center of everything we do,” Baker said. “Together as a university and community we will accomplish great things. We will build on the tradition and with the passion and support of fans, we will develop elite programs that West Virginians deserve and can be proud of.”
Baker as joined by West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee, as there are many challenges that lie ahead including attacking name, image, and likeness, trying to recover the football program, while also overcoming the challenges of the transfer portal in the changing world of college athletics.
Baker was brought in by West Virginia University after they partnered with Turnkey ZRG, a professional search firm.
“We interviewed Power Five folks, we interviewed folks outside of athletics in general,” Gee said. “Eventually we focused on about 7 or 8 candidates… we narrowed it down to three, we met in Atlanta with our screening committee and that point it was unanimous.”
“We had great candidates, and it was just readily apparent that the fit and the person and the structure and the place where we should be is [Baker],” Gee said.
Name, image, and likeness (NIL) has taken a larger role within college athletics in the past year. NIL creates challenges, but also creates opportunity for schools and student athletes. Baker said his role will be to expand opportunities for student-athletes at WVU and to help facilitate funding for Country Roads Trust — a stand-alone entity helped to create NIL opportunities for WVU student-athletes.
“Really name, image, and likeness, is about opportunities for student-athletes,” Baker said. “I think it’s important that we embrace that and promote that and don’t think it has to come at the expense of other things that we’re trying to do.”
As for working with Country Roads Trust, Baker has already tried to show public support for the trust and wants to continue to help them grow and to collaborate efforts with them.
“I see them (Country Roads Trust) as an asset and a tool and somebody that we need to have a relationship with,” Baker said. “Not one that violates the rules, but one that is healthy and does everything it can to provide those opportunities for student-athletes within the rules.”
Another area in which Baker will have to oversee and make crucial decisions on is the future of the West Virginia football program. The Mountaineers went 5-7 this past year in head coach Neal Brown’s fourth season.
“One of the things I started realizing is we really did put [Brown] in a very challenging position because we played two Power Five teams right off the bat,” Gee said. “The recent process came out noting that we had the toughest football schedule in the country. The fact that we’ve gone 5-7 in a very competitive environment is something I take a lot of pride in.”
Baker and Gee decided to keep Brown for a fifth season, with his career record at WVU sitting at 22-25. Baker said he is going to work with Brown and his staff to try and help grow the program in different areas, while also seeing where they can improve.
“We’ve had several conversations,” Baker said of Brown. “I look forward to getting here and work with Coach Brown and doing a thorough assessment of the program so we can determine what do we need, where are our gaps, what hurdles can I eliminate, what resources do we need to go and procure because the football program is obviously important to the university and the state.”
Another issue regarding the football program along with all other sports is the transfer portal. The transfer portal allows student-athletes to leave WVU and go to any other school, but it also allows WVU to try and get student-athletes from other schools to come to WVU.
“I think it starts with making sure the student-athletes who are here, are having a great experience,” Baker said. “You got to know who’s there and then you got to make sure your coaching staffs across the board are equipped with the people who can reach out to student-athletes in the portal and help build the case in terms of just the frequency of communication and selling what we have to offer.”
As Baker progresses before his first official day of work on Dec. 19, he will look to learn more about the state of West Virginia, while also taking time to assess and engage with donors and other people involved with the athletic department and West Virginia University athletics in general.
“You have to learn the place and learn the niches that you can use to turn around and engage people,” Baker said. “In terms of fundraising there’s both the importance of growing a base and getting as many people in the door as you can doing something… with your larger donors, it really is getting to know them. I see it more as matchmaking than it is fundraising. I want to know what they’re interested in, what they’re inclined to support, and then let them know the opportunities to partner with us that fit their personality and their interest.”
Baker will try to lead West Virginia University athletics, while also buying into the future of the university, the athletic department, as well as the state.
“During the process, President Gee told me, ‘If you love West Virginians, they will love you back.’ The Baker family is here to love you West Virginia.”
