The great upheaval within the WVU Athletic Department is now settling down.
The shocking dismissal of Shane Lyons, and his subsequent candid interview on MetroNews Talkline, combined with the uncertain future of head football coach Neal Brown has dominated West Virginia sports news.
The University’s tight lid on the Lyons’ replacement search and the ambiguity about Brown’s status left an information void that was filled by speculation, rumor and innuendo. That was not a good position for WVU or the football program.
However, the announcement Wednesday that WVU has hired Wren Baker as the new AD allowed the University to get back in front of the story. The focus now is on Baker, who comes to Morgantown from Denton, Texas, where he was Vice President and Director of Athletics at the University of North Texas.
WVU President Gordon Gee told Lyons when he fired him that the University wanted to go in a different direction. The Baker hire is representative of that directional change. “We wanted someone who clearly understood the dynamics of a fast-changing athletics environment and had found success being at the forefront of this new world that includes managing NIL and the portal,” Gee said in a news release announcing the hire.
WVU believed Lyons strengths were administration and compliance, more than fundraising, and Baker’s biography leans heavily on his ability to raise money.
“Baker is a noted fundraiser and has led record fundraising years at four different universities,” his UNT bio reads. “During his tenure, UNT athletics has registered the four best fundraising years in its history while securing 12 of the 20 largest gifts in athletic department history, six of the top ten and the overall top four largest gifts in UNT athletics history.”
The bio also describes Baker as “a tireless marketer and promoter.” University of Oklahoma Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics called Baker “one of the rising leaders” in college athletics.
Meanwhile, Coach Brown will not be fired. Top WVU officials were looking for reasons to keep Brown for now and the win over Oklahoma State on the road further solidified their position. The University made clear Wednesday afternoon that Brown will remain as head coach.
WVU could not waste any more time on the Brown situation. The transfer portal opens Monday. It will be hard enough for Brown to keep and attract players, but the situation would have been untenable had the University not solidified Brown’s position as soon as possible.
These last few weeks have been chaotic for WVU athletics and the football program, leaving Mountaineer Nation unsettled. At least now there is some sense of normalcy heading forward.