Wren Baker Reiterates Ideal Non Conference Football Schedule for WVU

WVU director of athletics Wren Baker is in lock step with head coach Neal Brown when it comes to how the Mountaineers should construct a schedule.

With the landscape of college sports constantly changing, the topic of schedules often comes up. Despite a desire to make the Pitt game a constant, Baker did specify that his ideal non conference football schedule would only include one “Power 5” program. That obviously also speaks to West Virginia prioritizing its rivalry with Pitt above any others that have been rejuvenated in recent years.

When possible, Baker hopes to fill out the rest of WVU’s future schedules with one “Power 5” school, one “Group of 5” and then an FCS. This is a similar strategy that most programs have already been employing across the country and the exact path that got TCU into the College Football Playoff last season.

WVU AD Wren Baker once again says his ideal non conference schedule for the best interest of West Virginia is playing one Power 5 (or whoever is considered major conference programs) rival, an FCS game and then a Group of 5.

This in contrast to what his predecessors set up for…

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) August 23, 2023

Baker’s thinking is that if the Big 12 offers several games against ranked teams on its own, that stacking the schedule with multiple “Power 5” programs is not necessary and not in the best interest of the Mountaineers, especially if it’s in contrast to the rest of the country.

It was just two weeks ago when Brown offered this same opinion when asked about presiding over a period that’s included West Virginia facing a string of traditional rivals for the first time in years.

Neal Brown All in on Brawl, Out on Playing Multiple P5 Rivals in Same Season

Wren Baker even detailed his mentality while appearing on a show with WVSN’s Mike Asti soon after being hired.