Four Names That Make Sense as AD Candidates for West Virginia

One week in the past, West Virginia College made the choice to maneuver on from Shane Lyons as its athletic director after eight years.

“I deeply admire Shane’s management over the previous eight years and I want him effectively,” President E. Gordon Gee mentioned in an announcement launched by the college. “However with the ever-changing panorama of intercollegiate athletics, I imagine this is a chance to carry a contemporary perspective to our program.”

So, who might probably be on the radar for West Virginia? Listed below are a number of names to bear in mind.

Whit Babcock 

A well-recognized title to West Virginia followers to start out issues off. Babcock was the assistant AD below Ed Pastilong from 2003-07. Since his time at WVU, Babcock served because the assistant AD at Missouri (2007-11) and the athletic director at Cincinnati (2011-14) and Virginia Tech (2014-present). 

His soccer hires have not been all that nice, bringing Tommy Tuberville to Cincinnati (29-24) and Justin Fuente (43-31), and Brent Pry (3-8) to Virginia Tech. That mentioned, Babcock has hit effectively on basketball hires Buzz Williams and Mike Younger. In all probability would not have the strongest resume, however his ties to the college make him a reputation to look at.

He graduated from West Virginia College with a Grasp’s diploma in sports activities administration.

Matt Borman 

Matt Borman is at the moment the President and Chief Govt Workplace for Tiger Athletic Basis (TAF) at LSU, a title has held since April of 2021. Previous to being employed at LSU, Borman served because the Deputy Athletic Director on the College of Georgia from 2017-21. Earlier than that, Borman was an integral a part of the Mountaineer Athletic Membership because the lead fundraiser and the chief director. Borman helped lead the efforts of elevating cash for a number of of the power upgrades WVU has seen over the past decade or so, together with the brand new basketball follow facility, weight room and group room for the soccer program, and a ladies’s soccer follow facility.

Borman is a 2003 West Virginia College graduate with a grasp’s diploma in sport administration. He additionally holds a bachelor’s diploma in enterprise administration from Lynchburg Faculty.

Kevin Miller 

Kevin Miller at the moment serves because the Senior Affiliate Athletic Director at Georgia. He is a local of Wheeling and obtained a bachelor’s and grasp’s diploma from WVU. He was an intern on the MAC workers from 2005-06 earlier than turning into the Assistant Athletic Director for Annual Giving after which promoted to Affiliate Athletic Director for Annual Giving in 2016, the place he was liable for managing and overseeing the annual giving and precedence seating and parking packages for WVU.

Rob Mullens 

Mullens, at the moment the Athletic Director at Oregon, has a knack for making high quality hires and never simply in soccer. He helped solidify the contract/hiring of males’s basketball coach Dana Altman, who has gained 301 video games since taking the job. He has gained 20+ video games in every of his 12 seasons on the job and has made the NCAA Event in eight of these years. On the ladies’s aspect, he employed Kelly Graves away from Gonzaga in 2014, who has fully turned this system round and into one of many best within the nation. 

Most significantly, Mullens has a excessive “hit price” on soccer hires. After Chip Kelly bolted for the NFL, he gave the job to Mark Helfrich who went 37-16 throughout 4 seasons which included a nationwide championship look. Then after a one-year stint from Willie Taggart, Mullens employed Mario Cristobal, who compiled a 35-13 report over 5 years. Cristobal left for Miami following final season and as soon as once more, it appears to be like like Mullens made a terrific rent as Dan Lanning is 9-2 in his first 12 months on the job. 

The West Virginia native earned a bachelor’s diploma in enterprise administration and a grasp’s in sport administration from West Virginia in 1991 and 1993.

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