West Virginia has no doubts about where the program sits long term
Conference realignment continues to shift the makeup of the power structure in college football, but West Virginia Athletic Director Wren Baker has zero doubts that the Mountaineers will be included in what comes next.
Baker, who took the job in Morgantown last December, is confident in the positioning of the West Virginia athletic programs in more ways than one.
Not only does the state serve as somewhat of a gateway to the Northeast, but despite a lower population total of around 1.8 million people that reside within the Mountaineers constantly are perched in a good spot when it comes to valuation and viewership numbers.
“We may only have a little less than two million people, but we are West Virginia’s Dallas Cowboys,” Baker said. “Of those 1.8 million, 1.6 million are following every possession.”
Baker admitted that West Virginia isn’t in the top ten, but the athletic program is perched in the top half of power five schools in those important metrics including viewership.
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And that is directly a reflection of the power and the reach of the brand of the school as it also displays that they can get into the Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore markets.
“We have a broad reach,” Baker said. “So, for all those reasons I’m very confident in our positioning from a conference perspective.”
Another thing that aids the athletic program is simply how much it means to the state and the people within it. The people in West Virginia simply won’t let the school go without what it needs.
For example, when it comes to the proposal made by NCAA President Charlie Baker is one that has caused concern in some circles. The potential proposal would allow teams to opt-in to being part of a new subdivision that would require teams to invest in their athletes.
Under the proposed model schools would be permitted to strike name, image and likeness deals with their players while also directly compensating athletes through a trust fund. There would be no cap on the funds that a school can provide.
It would cost the Mountaineers around an additional eight to ten million annually, but Baker has no concerns if that would come to pass for many of the reasons listed above along with the leadership at all levels from the board to the institution itself.
“Because we’re going to figure it out. One way or another we’re going to figure out how to compete at the highest of levels and provide whatever is allowed per NCAA rules to allow this program to compete,” Baker said.
“Whatever the highest level of college athletics is we will be a participant and we will be competitive,” the athletic director added.
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