Asti: Darian DeVries Would Only Leave WVU for Iowa for One Reason

The Iowa basketball job is now open. The Hawkeyes are set to fire Fran McCaffery, dismissing their longtime head coach after a second round exit in the Big Ten Tournament. With no NCAA Tournament hopes in sight, Iowa is looking for a new direction. That’s where WVU head coach Darian DeVries comes in.

DeVries has turned around the Mountaineers in one season following back-to-back years of drama. But in the midst of keeping West Virginia afloat enough to experience the madness of March, he’s also been in rumors as McCaffrey’s replacement if Iowa pulls the trigger. So now that they have, will DeVries leave WVU after only one season and force Wren Baker to do yet another coaching search?

Well, only time will tell and DeVries is unlucky to address any rumors until his season is over. However, if he does decide to take the Iowa job, it’s for one reason and one reason only.

If DeVries does end up being introduced as the next head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes, it will be because he simply wants to go home. He will undoubtedly even reference being home and Iowa being his dream job at his introductory press conference. Book it.

Because aside from just wanting to be home, Iowa BASKETBALL is objectively not a better job than West Virginia BASKETBALL and wouldn’t be a smart professional decision for DeVries.

If Darian DeVries wants to go to Iowa, it will only be because it’s his dream job. There is no objective measure to argue Iowa BASKETBALL is a better job than West Virginia BASKETBALL.

Iowa hasn’t been a better program historically – especially not in recent decades, has their…

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) March 14, 2025

Baker once said the one thing he can’t change no matter what is geography when talking about his failed efforts to keep a coach early in his WVU tenure. If someone wants to go home, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop them. And honestly, no one should even be mad at someone wanting to go home. West Virginia once benefited from Bob Huggins leaving Kansas State after only one season to go home to WVU. The rest is history.

That sucked for Kansas State then and losing DeVries would suck for WVU now. Sure, West Virginia could still hire a solid coach and still has plenty to offer to any candidate. They could even say DeVries only left to go home as a “it wasn’t about us” type excuse.

But job vs. job, West Virginia basketball is better.

Comparing WVU history to Iowa history

Historically speaking, there’s an argument the two programs are a wash, although WVU has a significant edge in recent decades.

West Virginia has 31 NCAA Tournament appearances (about to be 32), has advanced to the Sweet 16 on 11 occasions, the Elite Eight three times and made a pair of Final Fours. In addition to the NCAA Tournament history, WVU has won 13 conference tournaments and claims a national championship from the 1942 season.

As for Iowa, the Hawkeyes have made the NCAA Tournament 29 times, has eight Sweet 16s, four Elite Eights and three Final Fours, granted their last Final Four came in 1987. Iowa has only won a conference tournament three times and has no claim on a national title year.

In fact, while McCaffery enjoyed some success and is Iowa’s all-time wins leader, the program has not advanced to even a Sweet 16 this century – their last coming in 1999.

WVU also has the clear edge in legendary figures and even relevant alumni names still active in the sport, something that can matter in recruiting.

Staying at WVU still makes sense without historical argument

Of course, history may not matter to a current coach as much as it would have in the past. The current climate of college athletics allows coaches to find success in non traditional places. Indiana football had three bowl wins all-time to their name before Curt Cignetti arrived and led them to a birth in the College Football Playoff.

Both West Virginia and Iowa are football schools first, but WVU has shown an ability to invest in both simultaneously when things are going right. And even though WVU is trying to correct the its own money issues, Iowa is far from on stable ground financially themselves.

Poaching DeVreis from the Mountaineers would take a large financial commitment from Iowa. USA Today reports that Iowa will owe McCaffery a buyout of $4.2 million.

WVU signed DeVries to a five-year, $15 million contract last offseason. DeVries’s contract includes a buyout clause should he leave for another job before April 30, 2028. The clause stipulates that DeVries would owe WVU 37.5% of his remaining contract. The buyout amount for DeVries to leave this offseason would be approximately $4.575 million.

WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose

The cost for Iowa to pay both McCaffery’s and DeVries’s buyouts would be upwards of $8 million, in addition to the new contract it would need to give DeVries.

Yes, the Big Ten TV deal can be attractive, but for as many DeVries to Iowa rumors exist, there’s also speculation on the mismanaging of money by Iowa for years and that only continuing to be a problem under athletic director Beth Goetz.

When comparing NIL collectives, WVU’s (Country Roads Trust) has ranked as high as N0. 27 in the country for its total efforts as recent as 2024. Iowa’s has never cracked any such list.  Yes, that rank of 27th was a projection and not where WVU finished the year – just ask Neal Brown, but it’s still worth noting because Iowa’s has not been recognized in that way at all.

Big 12 > Big Ten in BASKETBALL

We’re not talking football here. If we were, the Big Ten would be the place to be, especially when looking at two programs with similar histories and situations in their state.

But in basketball, the Big 12 has been the better conference in recent years. Purdue did represent the Big Ten in the 2024 National Championship Game, but it’s the Big 12 with the most recent national champions. The Big 12 is actually home to two of the last four champions and won in back-t0-back season before UConn started their dynasty. The last Big Ten champion was Michigan State in 2000.

Superstate from tournament performance, the Big 12 sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament last year compared to the Big Ten’s six. To be fair, both conferences have had around the same number of teams ranked in the Associated Press’ poll throughout the season, but the Big 12 currently has the edge as far where they ranked with two inside the top 10 and Houston sitting at No. 2.

It’s not to say the Big Ten is a bad basketball conference or struggling like the ACC has been this season. That’s not the case. The Big Ten could maybe even try to argue depth for this particular season. But the point remains, the Big 12 has accomplished more and still maintains its argument as one of the best conferences in the country.

It’s just not necessary to jump from the Big 12 to the Big Ten in college BASKETBALL to win at a high level.

If DeVries stays at WVU, it likely comes with a big new deal, but those acting like Iowa pitching West Virginia’s coach  is inevitable may need to think again. That said, if he does turn in his Mountaineer gear for Hawkeye attire, more power to him. Sometimes being home and fulfilling a dream trumps everything else.

Find more coverage of Darian DeVries at WV Sports Now.