MORGANTOWN, Va. (AP) — Ren Baker could not have imagined the challenges he would face during his first seven months as West Virginia’s athletic director.
Baker earned his retention — and then some — by making multiple hiring decisions since coming from North Texas. There will be at least a few more by next spring, not to mention trying to keep West Virginia competitive as the Big 12 welcomes four new teams this season.
“I loved it here,” Becker said. “Now, am I ready for some smoother waters to sail in? Of course. I’d love to see that. And I’m sure we’ll get those.”
The final move came late last month when Baker came along Promoted Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Josh Eilert to interim head coach after the resignation of Bob Huggins on June 17. Baker decided against hiring a full-time coach due to a limited number of candidates in the summer, meaning he would have to make another decision after the 2023-24 season.
“I have complete confidence in Rehn with regard to his leadership,” said Eilert. “He’s a very smart individual. He keeps his head straight. It’s nice to be able to work with someone like that and feel a level of comfort knowing the program is going in a very good direction.”
Huggins already been disciplined in May after a Hall of Fame coach used a homophobic slur to refer to Xavier fans while also denigrating Catholics during a radio interview with a Cincinnati station. Huggins agreed to a three-game suspension, $1 million salary cut and sensitivity training.
A month later, Huggins went, Resignation after a drunk driving arrest in Pittsburgh.
Suddenly, Baker was sucked into suggestions about how to proceed in hiring Huggins’ successor while college coaching friends told him to be prepared for schools that wanted to purge the transfer gate basketball roster. Use Baker a full week in advance He decides to go the temporary route Hire a coach. Meanwhile, a 30-day gate window for West Virginia players to decide what to do closes in mid-July.
Baker was not the center of attention when he was appointed last November. On the day of the announcement, Baker, West Virginia President Gordon Gee, and others decided to give embattled head football coach Neil Brown another chance after finishing the 2022 season 5-7.
The football team’s record is 22-25 under Brown, its worst four-year stretch since it went 17-27 from 1976-1979. This fall, Baker could end up giving the Browns the boot if the Mountaineers have a fifth straight season of underperformance — or keep the Browns if the team sees significant improvement.
Baker was also forced to hire a new women’s basketball head coach after Don Blitzweat left in late March after one season for Minnesota. Two weeks later, Baker Stephen F. Austin hired Mark Kellogg.
“We had a lot of turmoil in the first few months,” Baker said. “But I also understand that it’s not because WVU is wrong. This is a great job. Great fan passion. We have resources. We have a great organization. We command the presence of the country.”
“I’ve never had a day of regret. Now, I’ve had days that were tough at work. But that comes with jobs like this. If you’re going to be in a leadership position, you have to be ready for that.”
It also means changing the landscape of the Big 12. Since joining in 2012, West Virginia has been the league’s eastern end, traveling 1,000 miles or more to most of its road competitions. Former Big East member Cincinnati will join the Mountaineers this season. The other 12 new schools are BYU, Central Florida, and Houston.
“When you look at having Cincinnati in the league, that creates great competition over time,” said Baker. “It’s not going to happen overnight. And then UCF, we have a lot of donors and donors in Florida. So that will give us an opportunity to connect with them, another Eastern team. I’m excited about the future of the Big 12.”
Baker’s approach to his job is epitomized by the crystal frog he keeps in his office. It was given to him when he was named athletic director at North Texas in 2016 by a benefactor in Missouri, where he had been assistant athletic director the year before.
“He’s gone,” said Becker, “You know what that means, right?” “I said no. He said, ‘When you’re a leader, you can’t look back. What can’t a frog do? It can’t jump backwards. It can only go forward.'”
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