Update: North Texas has announced Baker's departure. Said president Neal Smatresk.
"It has been my pleasure to work with Wren for the past six years as our VP for Athletics and AD. During this time, our athletics program has experienced record-setting success in virtually every area, including student academic performance, fundraising, overall conference records and championships. While we are sad to see him go, this is a great move for Wren and his family, and it speaks volumes for his success here at UNT. With solid infrastructure in place and a staff of great administrators and coaches, we are well positioned to continue our success. We will begin our search soon, and I anticipate that we will attract a strong pool of candidates who can continue our remarkable upward trajectory as we transition into The American."
Furthermore, Baker has a contract at WVU.
WVU: Baker begins his duties at WVU on Dec. 19 under a six-year agreement through Dec. 31, 2028, and will earn a yearly compensation of $1.1M, plus incentives. Lyons base for 2023 would have been $931,000.
— Hoppy Kercheval (@HoppyKercheval) November 30, 2022
West Virginia is set to fill its AD vacancy with North Texas's Wren Baker, according to a report Wednesday from Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger.
Baker did not immediately return multiple messages seeking comment.
Baker has led the department since 2016. Though he did not hire football head coach Seth Littrell, Baker did hire men's basketball head coach Grant McCasland; McCasland has led the Mean Green to three Conference USA championships, an NCAA tournament win, and an NIT appearance.
Baker was also instrumental in getting North Texas a spot in the American Athletic Conference, which the Mean Green will join this summer alongside five other Conference USA schools.
North Texas was Baker's first AD job, though he previously held deputy positions at Missouri and Memphis.
At West Virginia, Baker's first order of business will be to render a verdict on football coach Neal Brown, who sits at 22-25 in four seasons. Dellenger reports Brown is likely safe to return in 2023.
He leaves behind a North Texas football program set to compete for its first C-USA championship on Friday. Littrell is 44-43 in seven seasons. His contract expires after the 2023 campaign.
A natural internal succession candidate would be COO Jared Mosley, who served as Abilene Christian's AD from 2004-14. He was the youngest AD in the nation upon taking the job.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
While new AD Wren Baker will evaluate coach Neal Brown, the expectation is that evaluation will come over the next year instead of a matter of days.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 30, 2022
The expectation is that Brown will remain as coach in 2023.https://t.co/GFn0M0Bavo