With the college sports landscape in flux, it can feel like your favorite program has a difficult future ahead of it.
and Meeting rescheduling cause havoc in fierce negotiations Future of the College Football Playoff and lawsuits Like the one brought to you by West Virginia's RaeQuan Battle While challenging traditional NCAA rules and regulations, it's difficult to predict what Division I sports will look like in 10 to 20 years.
Fortunately for West Virginia fans, however, much of the news coming out of Morgantown lately indicates that WVU's athletic department is heading in the right direction.
Current athletic director Len Baker appears to be the driving force behind this positive growth for the Mountaineers.Since Baker Hired at the end of 2022he proposed both a plan to strengthen the athletic department and a warm public personality that seemed to endear him to potential staff members and donors.
One big move that's already paying off is the hiring of first-year girls basketball coach Mark Kellogg. Kellogg, who has had a wealth of success in the mid-majors, led his team to an overall record of 23-6 in his first game on the job, the most wins by a first-year coach in program history. He also seems likely to get the Mountaineers at least to the NCAA Tournament this season.
With stars like caitlin clarke With the Iowa Hawkeyes becoming better known and the sport's audience numbers steadily increasing, women's basketball may be on the rise in terms of the sport that generates revenue and brand recognition for athletic departments. , it's hard to argue that the WVU program could be even better.
Mr. Baker also country road trust, a name, image, and likeness (NIL)-focused collective that serves as a vehicle to raise and distribute funds to WVU athletes through NIL transactions. Founded in 2022, the trust claims to have facilitated NIL opportunities for more than 300 WVU student-athletes.
recent collection Achieved 1,500 total members Active Giving Pledge — This goal sparked an anonymous $500,000 donation to the organization. That money likely went a long way in keeping many of the big names who made national headlines in their respective sports in Morgantown, especially since many on a football team that went 9-4 last season early in the offseason. A contract was signed with the Country Road Trust. Mr Baker himself played a public role in raising part of the donations, agreeing to take part in a mayonnaise bath hosted by Duke's Mayo if the trust met its goals.
College sports, especially revenue-generating sports like football and men's basketball, continue to evolve into a model where athletes earn large sums of money based on their on-field ability, making WVU a bigger blueblood program. It is important to remain as competitive as possible in your program. A well-funded and resourced program. This type of fundraising by a dedicated group can help achieve such aspirations.
And just this week, even more exciting news is making the rounds in Morgantown. On Thursday, Ken Kendrick, co-founder of the Country Road Trust and owner of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, said: Added talent to the WVU athletic department. Funding to construct an 8,200 square foot indoor hitting and pitching facility with state-of-the-art Trackman technology. The stadium will be renamed Kendrick Family Ballpark.
“My family and I have supported WVU baseball for many years, and we are honored to have the Mountaineers' home stadium named after us,” Kendrick said. wvsports.com In a statement.
“We hope our gift of a state-of-the-art hitting and pitching laboratory will accelerate the development of current and future WVU athletes.”
Kendrick is the son of a WVU graduate and West Virginia native who is committed to building the school's athletics team into a strong, competitive team. And the importance of having active MLB owners. net worth As a prominent donor, $1.1 billion cannot be taken lightly. That's the kind of money that can rebuild an athletic department. The fact that he not only participates in his Country Roads Trust but also actively contributes his own funds to WVU projects bodes well for the future of his sport as a Mountaineer.
And on Friday, WVU football alumnus Pat McAfee, who boasts 2.49 million subscribers to YouTube's “The Pat McAfee Show,” was an on-screen persona on both ESPN's College Gameday and WWE. He and Kirk Herbstreit announced they were coming to Morgantown. For a special broadcast of McAfee's program. McAfee promised that half of the event's proceeds will go to support the Country Road Trust, and the other half will be donated to WVU Children's Hospital.
McAfee has become a well-known figure in the sports world in recent years, and with his ability to bring one of college football's biggest media members on board, the highly rated show should draw all sorts of attention to Morgantown on a national level. As always, he will be a premier brand ambassador for the university and its sports teams.
While poor performance on the court during the men's basketball season and questions about the football team's shoddy performance in the years leading up to the 2023 season have left a bad taste in the mouths of some fans, WVU athletics It is clear that the athletics department has set goals and is strengthening itself. To embrace its strong winning history and establish itself as a top brand in the new world of college athletics. And that should be something that excites the WVU fan base.
