West Virginia Athletic Director Wren Baker has the task with evaluating the football program over the next year and what comes next for head coach Neal Brown.

The decision was made by President Gordon Gee, with input from Baker, to retain Brown despite his 22-25 record over his first four seasons. The Mountaineers wrapped up a 5-7 record this past year, but it’s one where Gee believes the program was put in a tough position to start.

“We did play two power five teams right off the bat. The other thing is I don’t know if you’ve seen it but the recent process came put noting that we had the toughest football schedule in the country,” he said. “And the fact that we had gone 5-7 in a very competitive environment is something that I take a lot of pride on because given everything we played rather well.”

Gee also spoke with plenty of people across the country given the relationships that he has fostered over his 42-years as a university president and the consensus what each believed that Brown had great opportunities in front of him.

“We need to try to provide support and structure to allow him to be successful,” Gee said.

In the interview process for the athletic director position, each candidate asked about the football program and had the question turned back on them and each including Baker informed Gee that they would like the chance to work with Brown to create a positive result.

Baker has already been in contact with Brown and he is looking forward to sitting down and doing a thorough assessment on the program so they can determine how to best proceed. That means targeting the areas that need to improve, what hurdles that Baker can eliminate and resourced needed to help the football program take a step forward under Brown.

“The football program is obviously important to the university and the state. Coach Brown knows that and he wants to give WVU and the state of West Virginia a team that all the fans will be proud of,” Baker said. “I’m excited to join him, lock arms with him, get in the trenches with him and figure out what we need to do to eliminate hurdles for him and provide resources for him.”

Baker has not only experience as an athletic director, but as a coach and believes that should help him when it comes to communicating and understanding what needs to be done.

The new athletic director is excited to get to work but understands that the football program is right at the top of those priorities over the next year.

“I look forward to getting in and really working with Coach Brown and learning everything I can about the football program and I’m confident we can together figure out where we need to go,” he said.

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