Morgantown, West Virginia –
Ever since West Virginia University announced that Shane Lyons was forced to resign this morning, several prominent names have popped up as potential replacements as the director of athletics of the university.
Here are the names that have been mentioned as Lyons’ replacement and the order of who we believe would make the greatest impact at West Virginia:
1. Rob Mullens, Director of Athletics, Oregon
Mullens, 52, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s in sport management from West Virginia University in 1991 and 1993.
He has been one of the most innovative athletic directors in the nation over the last decade, but prying him from Oregon may be difficult.
2. Kevin Miller, Senior Associate Athletic Director, Georgia
Miller, a Wheeling, West Virginia native, earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Finance in 2005 and his master’s degree in Sports Management in 2006. Miller worked extensively for the Mountaineer Athletic Club (MAC) as well as the WVU Foundation early in his career. He has a wealth of experience and now works for one of the best football programs in the nation, Georgia.
3. Oliver Luck, Former Director of Athletics, West Virginia University
Luck, who served as West Virginia’s athletic director from 2010-14, started the Country Roads Trust, West Virginia’s NIL campaign to help pay West Virginia student-athletes. Although he did make questionable decisions as the end of his tenure in Morgantown – forcing Bill Stewart to resign, hiring Dana Holgorsen, a coach with no head coach experience, etc. – he is widely respected around the country and is certainly qualified to come in and fix the mess created by Lyons.
4. Whit Babcock, Current Athletic Director at Virginia Tech
Babcock earned a master’s degree from West Virginia University and was the Assistant AD at WVU from 2003-2007. He was also the athletics director at the University of Cincinnati from 2011 to 2014. Although the Virginia Tech football program is currently down, he has made several outstanding hires during his career, revamped the program’s fundraising program and oversaw the construction and renovations at Virginia Tech.
