Morgantown, WV – WVU athletic director Wren Baker has done an outstanding job during his time in Morgantown. After being handed a difficult situation by predecessor Shane Lyons, Baker has navigated the Mountaineers to a place where they can be competitive in the new college sports environment. The results compiled during his three-year stint with West Virginia has led his name to being tied to athletic director openings around the country.
One such opening of late has been the athletic director opening at the University of Oklahoma. Longtime Sooners director Joe Castiglione announced his intentions to retire at the end of the 2025-26 school year. While the program has ample time to find his successor, many names have been tied to the job. Baker, who is an Oklahoma native, seems like the perfect fit.
Taylor Kennedy of the Charleston Gazette-Mail recently inquired Baker about the proposition of his name being tied to Oklahoma. What he had to say can ease the minds of West Virginia fans, for the time being.
Here is what Baker had to say, according to Kennedy:
“First of all, any time your name is thrown out there, there will be speculation. It is a credit to the people here, the student-athletes, coaches and staff that are doing the majority of the work. I’m the member of a team of several hundred and no one is more significant than the other. People recognize that there are a lot of good things happening at WVU. I love it here.
“My wife and two girls, more importantly, love it here and love being here. We’re very, very happy here. In the time I’ve been here, I’ve not ever entertained anything else. However, you also don’t want to get into the habit of every time there’s speculation then it’s your responsibility to pour water on it either.
“Generally, I don’t address it. I’ve stayed consistent about what I can honestly tell people and that is that we’re extraordinarily happy here.”
Only time will tell if Baker will have interest in the Oklahoma job. We can certainly believe that the Sooners will have interest in him, if he was willing to take the job.
Stay tuned to The Voice of Morgantown for updates on the situation.
(Photo by WVU Athletics)
