West Virginia eyes alternate revenue sources for athletic department

Athletic Director Wren Baker made it clear that West Virginia has work to do when it comes to finding more revenue.

The Mountaineers don't necessarily have a spending problem, as the athletic department is very efficient with the dollars it does receive, but must look at ways to generate more to be competitive.

It takes money to win and that money has to go directly back into investing into the student athletes and athletic programs to better position themselves against peers.

Baker, who was hired in December of 2022, understands that one of the biggest strengths of the program is the fan passion and loyalty and the Mountaineers are always near the top of the Big 12 Conference when it comes to valuations given that affinity. But there needs to be ways to look at monetizing that and being more effective.

One way to potentially do that is the creation of more suites and Baker has certainly seen that the appetite is there for that. The demographics of the fan base isn't much different than the rest of the Big 12 member schools but many of those institutions sell a lot more club seating and suites than West Virginia. And boils down to availability.

West Virginia doesn't have any to sell at the moment and it's an avenue that the athletic department is exploring to see if there is a pathway for a major gift or two to help build those and provide multiple cash funds not only from the rental itself but officials could then turn around and spread that out to other areas.

It's something that Baker was asked about multiple times during the 1891 Club meeting in August for the football program and it's a way to help create opportunities for the future if those can be acquired.

Another avenue that has been explored is naming rights. There has been some third-parties engaged to do evaluations on what that could potentially bring in terms of revenue but the juice must be worth the squeeze given the attachments that people have to the names of the athletic facilities.

Still, Baker believes it's an opportunity given the reach of the athletic brand in the state for companies to advertise with the biggest bang for their buck.

If West Virginia is able to generate more funding the plan is to invest back into the programs and support staffs across the board in every sport. For example, Baker points to the explosion of video and graphic design and how important that is when it comes to creating content and to engage the fan base and potential recruits.

The other area would be in terms of player development such as nutrition, strength and conditioning as well as sports medicine.

Going back over the years, West Virginia has commonly been most successful when the program is around the league average or higher end in terms of the budget.

Currently, the program sits ninth in that department but that drops to tenth when you take out debt services and travel. And it's his job to address the issue and while it might not be a large bucket all at once, those small ones certainly add up over time.

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