MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — There is no denying the pull of home. Wren Baker is an Oklahoma native. He attended Oklahoma State. So, with his name now being connected to the athletic director position that could soon become available in Stillwater, it isn’t difficult to understand why Oklahoma State would interest him — or why Oklahoma State would be interested in him.
But Wren Baker shouldn’t leave West Virginia. Not now.
BREAKING: Rumors are circulating about Wren Baker's future at #WVU! pic.twitter.com/gps49ZtRCV
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) September 30, 2026
Baker has spent the last several years building something special in Morgantown, and perhaps more importantly, he has earned something that isn’t always easy for an athletic director to earn: the trust of the fanbase.
WVU fans genuinely like Wren Baker. They trust him. They believe he understands West Virginia, understands what Mountaineer athletics means to this state and understands how badly this fanbase wants to compete at the highest level.
That didn’t happen overnight.
Baker arrived at West Virginia in late 2022 and almost immediately found himself dealing with situations that would have tested any athletic director. He has navigated major coaching changes, an unprecedented transformation of college athletics, NIL, the transfer portal, revenue sharing and the constant financial arms race that comes with trying to compete in the Big 12.
Through all of it, Baker has continued pushing West Virginia forward.
He hired Mark Kellogg to lead the women’s basketball program. He has overseen changes in men’s basketball. He helped transition the baseball program from Randy Mazey to Steve Sabins. And then came the biggest decision of his tenure: bringing Rich Rodriguez back to Morgantown to lead West Virginia football.
Whether every decision ultimately works out remains to be seen. That’s the nature of college athletics. But there is a clear direction under Baker, and there is a sense that West Virginia is building toward something rather than simply trying to survive.
The results extend beyond football and basketball, too. WVU has enjoyed athletic success across multiple sports while posting outstanding academic numbers, and fundraising has been strong. Baker has also developed enough respect nationally that he has served in a leadership role among Big 12 athletic directors. WVU President Michael Benson has publicly praised his ability to generate revenue and his forward-thinking approach to the athletic department.
West Virginia clearly understands what it has in Baker.
His contract was extended through December 2032, and financially, WVU has made an enormous commitment to keeping him in Morgantown. Baker’s base salary was scheduled at $1.3 million in 2025 and increases by $100,000 annually until reaching $2 million in 2032. He also has significant retention bonuses built into the deal.
That’s important when Oklahoma State enters the conversation.
Oklahoma State’s current athletic director, Chad Weiberg, is making $750,000 annually under his contract. Obviously, Oklahoma State could offer Baker substantially more than that if it decides to pursue him, but WVU has already demonstrated that it is willing to compensate Baker like one of the most important people in the athletic department.
And that’s exactly what he is.
There will always be something appealing about going home. Baker grew up in Oklahoma. Oklahoma State is his alma mater. You can’t simply put a dollar figure on what returning home might mean to someone personally.
I understand that.
But there is another side to this.
Sometimes the place where you build your legacy becomes home, too.
Wren Baker didn’t inherit an easy situation at West Virginia. He inherited a proud athletic department trying to find its footing in a completely different era of college sports. Since then, he has helped reshape it. He’s made difficult decisions. He’s hired coaches. He’s raised money. He’s strengthened relationships. And most importantly, he has given Mountaineer fans a reason to believe there is a plan for where this athletic department is going.
Why leave before we get to see where that plan leads?
Baker recently said he feels as good about the state of WVU athletics as he ever has during his time in Morgantown. That should matter.
This is no longer someone else’s athletic department that Wren Baker happens to be running.
This is becoming Wren Baker’s athletic department.
These are increasingly his coaches. His decisions. His vision. His relationships with donors. His plan for navigating the changing economics of college athletics.
And there is unfinished business here.
West Virginia hasn’t won a Big 12 football championship. It hasn’t reached the College Football Playoff. Men’s basketball is still trying to return to the level Mountaineer fans expect. There are major goals left to accomplish and major chapters of this story that haven’t been written yet.
Imagine what Baker’s legacy could become if the decisions being made right now ultimately produce the kind of success West Virginia has been chasing.
That is something worth staying for.
Oklahoma State can offer Baker a homecoming.
West Virginia can offer him the opportunity to finish what he started.
And maybe someday, when we look back on Wren Baker’s tenure in Morgantown, we won’t remember him as the Oklahoma native and Oklahoma State graduate who came to West Virginia for a few years before eventually going home.
Maybe we’ll remember him as the athletic director who came to West Virginia, fell in love with this place, rebuilt Mountaineer athletics and helped lead WVU into one of the most successful eras in school history.
Home will always be home.
But Wren Baker is building something in Morgantown that is worth seeing through.
Stay, Wren. There is still work to do.
