Wren Baker: right opportunity needed for neutral site, international games

West Virginia Athletics Director Wren Baker believes that it’s the responsibility of the athletic program to promote tourism to the state.

That is accomplished by scheduling and bringing people to West Virginia that might not have come otherwise, outside of attending a football game. The reasons are obvious, as it helps not only the economy of Morgantown, but the state as a whole with tourism opportunities.

But that doesn’t mean that he isn’t willing to think outside of the box either.

The Mountaineers have three neutral-site contests scheduled in Charlotte in the coming years, with a matchup against Virginia in 2026, Tennessee in 2028, and Virginia in 2032.

“Picking and choosing neutral site opportunities when it gives us a real chance to extend our brand or engage fan bases. We know we have a lot of fans and alumni and West Virginia natives who move outside of the state, but are in Charlotte, for instance. Have a lot of people in Atlanta,” he said.

Baker said that they’ve seen the hot maps of where the alumni are located and if they have a chance to engage fans and it financially makes sense, it will be something they consider in the future. But it also must not put them in a position where they are taking away from having at least six home games.

“So, I think we’re looking at all of those in real time,” he said.

Baker also admitted that West Virginia has been approached a couple of times about playing a game internationally, but it just hasn’t made sense.

“We haven’t had the right one, right opportunity yet. But if it was a game that we thought really helped our brand, really allowed for us to build some momentum, that’s something that we might consider,” he said.

There’s no such thing as building the perfect schedule, but you’re trying to build one that checks as many boxes as you can, with the most important being the opportunity to be successful.

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