Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU’s New AD Wren Baker Eager to Get Started
December 05, 2022 01:18 PM | General, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Wren Baker was officially introduced as West Virginia University's 13th director of athletics this morning inside the team room at the Milan Puskar Center.
In making today's announcement, West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee listed some of the qualities he was seeking in WVU's new AD.
"We wanted someone who embraced new opportunities, a strategic risk taker and someone who thinks differently, but we also wanted someone who would fit within our culture at West Virginia University," Gee said.
"When we interviewed Wren, I can tell you he fits every one of our criteria and in addition to being an exceptionally talented athletic director, he's also a very positive person who easily connects and engages with everyone that he meets. He understands our mission; he knows where we want to go, and I have no doubt that he will get us there," Gee added.
Gee detailed the process of arriving at Baker 16 days after announcing a change in the director's position on Monday, Nov. 14. He said Turnkey ZRG was retained to help identify candidates in a quick process that wrapped up late last week.
"Turnkey did a wonderful job presenting us with a lot of different options," Gee said. "Eventually we focused on about seven or eight candidates. (Interim Director of Athletics) Rob Alsop, (former WVU director of athletics Oliver Luck) and I Zoomed with those, and we had a lot of input from a number of folks. We narrowed it down to three, and we met in Atlanta with our search committee at that point and I can tell you the decision was unanimous."
"Why West Virginia University? I love the role the University plays within the state and its people," Baker said. "I love its roots as a land-grant institution. I love that we're nationally known for providing an elite education as evidence by our R1 research rating while providing access to all West Virginians.
"I love the passion that this entire state has for the Mountaineers. It is special and unique and something I'm excited to be a part of and something I will not take for granted," Baker said. "Everyone I've talked to who has lived here, spent time here or visited said what a great place (Morgantown) is to raise a family and that's important."
Baker indicated the student-athlete experience will be his top priority.
"We will do everything we can to give the best experience possible because that's what they deserve," he said. "We will build them into champions, leaders and, most importantly, graduates during their time here."
Baker noted that small details will be important in West Virginia University's athletics department moving forward.
"Little things lead to big things and attention to those details require a commitment to excellence that is critical in building and sustaining winning programs," he said. "We will win with people, and we will place a high priority on their growth and their success."
Collegiate athletics has entered a tumultuous period with conference realignment and name, image and likeness (NIL) being at the forefront of the major issues that athletic departments across the country are dealing with.
The Big 12 Conference is transitioning from its current 10-member configuration to 14 schools beginning next year with the addition of BYU, Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston, and then to 12 when Texas and Oklahoma depart for the SEC in 2025. Last summer, The Big Ten sent shockwaves through collegiate sports when it announced the additions of USC and UCLA. More movement is possible.
NIL has had an equally unsettling impact on institutions with separate trusts being established to help fund sponsorship opportunities for student-athletes. The Country Roads Trust is currently supporting those efforts at West Virginia University.
Baker has already acknowledged The Country Roads Trust with a tweet sent out last weekend.
"You get clarifications on this it seems like every three or four weeks, but at this point we're certainly not able to determine who gets money or anything like that, but we can promote it," Baker explained. "I think that's the right place for us to be. Name, image and likeness is about opportunities for student-athletes, and that's what we're here for."
On campus, Baker will be dealing with a football program that is coming off its third losing season in four years while facing one of the most difficult grid schedules in school history. One website actually listed West Virginia's 2022 football slate the most difficult in the country with 11 Power 5 opponents - six of those on the road.
Gee referenced WVU's extremely difficult football schedule during his Monday morning remarks.
Evaluating the resources required to make Neal Brown's Mountaineer football program successful will be a vital task for Baker, who spent the last six years revitalizing the North Texas Mean Green athletic program.
Seven different teams combined to win 17 conference or division championships during Baker's tenure there, including the 2019 academic year when every team achieved a winning record for the first time in school history.
His new coaching hires at North Texas have combined to win nearly 70% of their games; the student-athlete academic success includes a cumulative 3.206 grade point average and four straight years of record-setting Graduation Success Rate records.
As a fundraiser, Baker's hard work produced the five largest gifts in UNT history and a doubling of the school's single-year record for fundraising. His efforts in external affairs saw football attendance increase by 71% and men's and women's basketball attendance boost its crowds by more than 60%.
His five-year strategic plan there included a new 20-year facilities master plan, as well as lucrative contracts for multi-media rights, licensing, apparel and equipment.
Baker is originally from Valliant, Oklahoma, and earned a bachelor's degree in education from Southeastern Oklahoma State in 2001.
His master's degree came from Oklahoma State in 2003 when he was a member of Eddie Sutton's men's basketball staff. Baker's professional experience includes stints at Missouri, where he was deputy director of athletics, Memphis, where he served a similar role, and a three-year tenure as athletic director at NCAA Division II power Northwest Missouri State.
Baker's diverse background also includes once serving as a head basketball coach and working as a high school principal in rural Oklahoma.
"I once had to do evaluations for my seventh-grade math teacher, whom I feared most of my life," he joked. "Later on in life, when you're having conversations with coaches evaluating their programs, those experiences really helped form me. There was never a more intimidating time in my life than when I was a 26-year-old principal."
Baker becomes the first AD outside of WVU's orbit since Big 8 conference assistant commissioner Dick Martin was hired to oversee the Mountaineer program in 1978. Martin's accomplishments here included the opening of New Mountaineer Field in 1980 and the hiring Michigan assistant coach Don Nehlen to oversee the football program.
Baker's wife, Heather, grew up in Bokchito, Oklahoma, and they have two daughters, Addisyn and Reagan.
"The joys of my life," Baker said of his family.
According to the terms of his contract, Baker has signed a six-year deal through Dec. 31, 2028, that will pay him a yearly salary of $1.1 million, plus incentives. He will officially begin AD duties on Monday, Dec. 19, when Alsop resumes his role as vice president for strategic initiatives.
"I've spent 20 years in athletics preparing for this moment, and I'm very eager to get started," Baker said.
Baker's official title is vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics. He will be presiding over an 18-sport athletic department consisting of 250 employees, nearly 500 student-athletes and an annual budget of $90 million.
In making today's announcement, West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee listed some of the qualities he was seeking in WVU's new AD.
"We wanted someone who embraced new opportunities, a strategic risk taker and someone who thinks differently, but we also wanted someone who would fit within our culture at West Virginia University," Gee said.
"When we interviewed Wren, I can tell you he fits every one of our criteria and in addition to being an exceptionally talented athletic director, he's also a very positive person who easily connects and engages with everyone that he meets. He understands our mission; he knows where we want to go, and I have no doubt that he will get us there," Gee added.
Gee detailed the process of arriving at Baker 16 days after announcing a change in the director's position on Monday, Nov. 14. He said Turnkey ZRG was retained to help identify candidates in a quick process that wrapped up late last week.
"Turnkey did a wonderful job presenting us with a lot of different options," Gee said. "Eventually we focused on about seven or eight candidates. (Interim Director of Athletics) Rob Alsop, (former WVU director of athletics Oliver Luck) and I Zoomed with those, and we had a lot of input from a number of folks. We narrowed it down to three, and we met in Atlanta with our search committee at that point and I can tell you the decision was unanimous."
"Why West Virginia University? I love the role the University plays within the state and its people," Baker said. "I love its roots as a land-grant institution. I love that we're nationally known for providing an elite education as evidence by our R1 research rating while providing access to all West Virginians.
"I love the passion that this entire state has for the Mountaineers. It is special and unique and something I'm excited to be a part of and something I will not take for granted," Baker said. "Everyone I've talked to who has lived here, spent time here or visited said what a great place (Morgantown) is to raise a family and that's important."
Baker indicated the student-athlete experience will be his top priority.
"We will do everything we can to give the best experience possible because that's what they deserve," he said. "We will build them into champions, leaders and, most importantly, graduates during their time here."
Baker noted that small details will be important in West Virginia University's athletics department moving forward.
"Little things lead to big things and attention to those details require a commitment to excellence that is critical in building and sustaining winning programs," he said. "We will win with people, and we will place a high priority on their growth and their success."
Collegiate athletics has entered a tumultuous period with conference realignment and name, image and likeness (NIL) being at the forefront of the major issues that athletic departments across the country are dealing with.
The Big 12 Conference is transitioning from its current 10-member configuration to 14 schools beginning next year with the addition of BYU, Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston, and then to 12 when Texas and Oklahoma depart for the SEC in 2025. Last summer, The Big Ten sent shockwaves through collegiate sports when it announced the additions of USC and UCLA. More movement is possible.
NIL has had an equally unsettling impact on institutions with separate trusts being established to help fund sponsorship opportunities for student-athletes. The Country Roads Trust is currently supporting those efforts at West Virginia University.
Baker has already acknowledged The Country Roads Trust with a tweet sent out last weekend."You get clarifications on this it seems like every three or four weeks, but at this point we're certainly not able to determine who gets money or anything like that, but we can promote it," Baker explained. "I think that's the right place for us to be. Name, image and likeness is about opportunities for student-athletes, and that's what we're here for."
On campus, Baker will be dealing with a football program that is coming off its third losing season in four years while facing one of the most difficult grid schedules in school history. One website actually listed West Virginia's 2022 football slate the most difficult in the country with 11 Power 5 opponents - six of those on the road.
Gee referenced WVU's extremely difficult football schedule during his Monday morning remarks.
Evaluating the resources required to make Neal Brown's Mountaineer football program successful will be a vital task for Baker, who spent the last six years revitalizing the North Texas Mean Green athletic program.
Seven different teams combined to win 17 conference or division championships during Baker's tenure there, including the 2019 academic year when every team achieved a winning record for the first time in school history.
His new coaching hires at North Texas have combined to win nearly 70% of their games; the student-athlete academic success includes a cumulative 3.206 grade point average and four straight years of record-setting Graduation Success Rate records.
As a fundraiser, Baker's hard work produced the five largest gifts in UNT history and a doubling of the school's single-year record for fundraising. His efforts in external affairs saw football attendance increase by 71% and men's and women's basketball attendance boost its crowds by more than 60%.
His five-year strategic plan there included a new 20-year facilities master plan, as well as lucrative contracts for multi-media rights, licensing, apparel and equipment.
Baker is originally from Valliant, Oklahoma, and earned a bachelor's degree in education from Southeastern Oklahoma State in 2001.
His master's degree came from Oklahoma State in 2003 when he was a member of Eddie Sutton's men's basketball staff. Baker's professional experience includes stints at Missouri, where he was deputy director of athletics, Memphis, where he served a similar role, and a three-year tenure as athletic director at NCAA Division II power Northwest Missouri State.
Baker's diverse background also includes once serving as a head basketball coach and working as a high school principal in rural Oklahoma.
"I once had to do evaluations for my seventh-grade math teacher, whom I feared most of my life," he joked. "Later on in life, when you're having conversations with coaches evaluating their programs, those experiences really helped form me. There was never a more intimidating time in my life than when I was a 26-year-old principal."
Baker becomes the first AD outside of WVU's orbit since Big 8 conference assistant commissioner Dick Martin was hired to oversee the Mountaineer program in 1978. Martin's accomplishments here included the opening of New Mountaineer Field in 1980 and the hiring Michigan assistant coach Don Nehlen to oversee the football program.
Baker's wife, Heather, grew up in Bokchito, Oklahoma, and they have two daughters, Addisyn and Reagan.
"The joys of my life," Baker said of his family.
According to the terms of his contract, Baker has signed a six-year deal through Dec. 31, 2028, that will pay him a yearly salary of $1.1 million, plus incentives. He will officially begin AD duties on Monday, Dec. 19, when Alsop resumes his role as vice president for strategic initiatives.
"I've spent 20 years in athletics preparing for this moment, and I'm very eager to get started," Baker said.
Baker's official title is vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics. He will be presiding over an 18-sport athletic department consisting of 250 employees, nearly 500 student-athletes and an annual budget of $90 million.
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