Arizona State AD Apologizes to WVU: ‘I Look Forward to Visiting’

Arizona State AD Ray Anderson apologized to West Virginia on Tuesday morning saying that he is looking forward to the visit to Morgantown. Anderson was interviewed by the media over the weekend about joining the Big 12 to which the ASU Vice President for University Athletics mentioned that he will not be traveling to Morgantown.

“They were clumsy comments from me that I sincerely regret because I offended some people when no offense was intended,” Anderson said to Arizona Sports. “For that, I apologize, I sincerely do. Wren Baker, the West Virginia AD, and I have known each other so I called Wren on Monday and we had a chance to talk. I explained the context and he graciously accepted my apology and certainly said he’d pass it on to their president, Gordon Gee.”

Arizona State VP for university athletics Ray Anderson says he called West Virginia AD Wren Baker to apologize for his comments on Morgantown and that he looks forward to visiting. pic.twitter.com/qH2hVWmofz

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) August 9, 2023

Anderson said that the phone conversation between him and Baker extended into a bond about being in the same conference together and how exciting the new Big 12 can be. Baker jokingly made Anderson promise him one thing.

“We shared our mutual excitement about us being in the same conference going forward. We shared a few laughs because he made me promise that I would absolutely come to Morgantown many times over the course of the next few years,” Anderson said.

Arizona State officially joined the Big 12 Conference late Friday night, coming along with Arizona and Utah for 2024. The trio of Pac-12 schools join Colorado, who officially joined the conference two weeks ago.

Anderson noted that he does not like the cold weather but has been to Morgantown before.

“I must admit I do not like cold weather. It gets really cold in there in the winter time and that’s what I was jesting with [ASU] President [Michael] Crow about. That being said, I’ve been there. It’s a beautiful college town. They have a nice stadium there. I’m telling you, their folks are as gracious with their hospitality as any you will find. I know there are good folks back there and I look forward to visiting.”

Arizona State joins a 16-team Big 12 with Arizona, Baylor, BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia beginning in the 2024-25 academic year.