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A Letter from Wren Baker
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<blockquote data-quote="steeleer" data-source="post: 132281505" data-attributes="member: 1484359"><p><strong>Your friendly neighborhood SteelEER interpretation:</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>Dear Mountaineer Nation,</p><p></p><p>Today, I begin my tenure as the Vice President and Director of Athletics at West Virginia University, and I want to share a few thoughts with all of you.</p><p></p><p><strong>This is going to suck. Deal.</strong></p><p></p><p>First, I want to thank you for the incredibly warm welcome and the many kind words that my family and I have received over the past few weeks. As I shared in my opening press conference, my wife and I were raised in small Oklahoma towns and have been taking country roads throughout our lives, and we are so happy that those roads have led us home to West Virginia.</p><p></p><p><strong>I'm trying to make myself relatable so that you'll feel bad for giving me a hard time when I do exactly what Gee tells me to do instead of what WVU fans want me to do. Remember we're all n this together, except I'm getting a million bucks a year and you're not.</strong></p><p></p><p>WVU is a tremendous institution with so much of which to be proud, and I am honored to join the leadership team. I love that we are nationally recognized for providing an elite education while continuing to prioritize access for West Virginians. I am emboldened by the passion the entire state has for the Mountaineers and will never take the privilege of leading our athletics department for granted. I, along with our coaches and staff and will work tirelessly to make all West Virginians proud.</p><p></p><p><strong>I'm going full fluffier as the top bun on this **** sandwich. </strong></p><p></p><p>We will develop a bold vision for WVU and determine a detailed set of strategic initiatives. In the coming weeks, I will spend much of my time listening to our stakeholders, an important first step in developing our comprehensive vision for the future.</p><p></p><p><strong>Get ready. The meat on this sandwich is pretty f#&king ripe. </strong></p><p></p><p>There are three non-negotiable principles upon which our work will be based:</p><p></p><p>Our student-athletes will always come first. They deserve the very best experience we can provide, and their success and well-being will be at the forefront of every decision we make. We will build them into champions, leaders and most importantly, graduates of West Virginia University.</p><p>Details matter. Little things make big things happen and attention to detail reflects our commitment to excellence.</p><p><u>Integrity is a must. We will win with honor, and we will not compromise our values to achieve our goals.</u></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Gee loves Kneel. Go suck a d@$k if you disagree.</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>This is a unique and exciting time in college athletics. The emergence of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the addition of four new members to the Big 12 in 2023 provide us with new challenges and new opportunities. West Virginians are renowned for their toughness, unwavering grit and resiliency, and these virtues give me confidence that we will embrace this new era of college athletics as our chance to innovate, invest and thrive.</p><p></p><p>To accomplish our goals, we will need all of us pulling in the same direction. One of my favorite quotes comes from Helen Keller: "I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something. I will not refuse to do something I can do."</p><p></p><p><strong>But we still expect your money even if you hate the product and our decision making. That is the only reason I got this gig so don't f#&k it up for me.</strong></p><p></p><p>Every member of Mountaineer Nation can do something to help elevate our programs and achieve our goals. You can attend games. You can join the Mountaineer Athletic Club. You can support NIL opportunities for our student-athletes. You can be an ambassador by spreading the word about WVU, its global impact and the many positive things happening in athletics and on campus.</p><p></p><p><strong>And here is a shameless plug on how many many ways you can financially enable a completely f#$ked up department that considers a 5 win season the bees knees.</strong></p><p></p><p>Let me close with another one of my favorite quotes, this one from the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi: "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can capture excellence."</p><p></p><p><strong>We're going to suck but we'll look like we're trying really hard. </strong></p><p></p><p>I am so excited for our journey ahead and I am confident we will achieve excellence together.</p><p></p><p><strong>So stoked to get PAID!!</strong></p><p></p><p>I look forward to seeing you at one of our athletic events in the near future.</p><p></p><p><strong>But only if you're dumb enough to give me money to enable this **** show for as long as possible. I gots kids to feed.</strong></p><p></p><p>Let's Go Mountaineers!</p><p></p><p></p><p>Wren "Stimpy" Baker</p><p>Vice President and Director of Athletics</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="steeleer, post: 132281505, member: 1484359"] [B]Your friendly neighborhood SteelEER interpretation:[/B] Dear Mountaineer Nation, Today, I begin my tenure as the Vice President and Director of Athletics at West Virginia University, and I want to share a few thoughts with all of you. [B]This is going to suck. Deal.[/B] First, I want to thank you for the incredibly warm welcome and the many kind words that my family and I have received over the past few weeks. As I shared in my opening press conference, my wife and I were raised in small Oklahoma towns and have been taking country roads throughout our lives, and we are so happy that those roads have led us home to West Virginia. [B]I'm trying to make myself relatable so that you'll feel bad for giving me a hard time when I do exactly what Gee tells me to do instead of what WVU fans want me to do. Remember we're all n this together, except I'm getting a million bucks a year and you're not.[/B] WVU is a tremendous institution with so much of which to be proud, and I am honored to join the leadership team. I love that we are nationally recognized for providing an elite education while continuing to prioritize access for West Virginians. I am emboldened by the passion the entire state has for the Mountaineers and will never take the privilege of leading our athletics department for granted. I, along with our coaches and staff and will work tirelessly to make all West Virginians proud. [B]I'm going full fluffier as the top bun on this **** sandwich. [/B] We will develop a bold vision for WVU and determine a detailed set of strategic initiatives. In the coming weeks, I will spend much of my time listening to our stakeholders, an important first step in developing our comprehensive vision for the future. [B]Get ready. The meat on this sandwich is pretty f#&king ripe. [/B] There are three non-negotiable principles upon which our work will be based: Our student-athletes will always come first. They deserve the very best experience we can provide, and their success and well-being will be at the forefront of every decision we make. We will build them into champions, leaders and most importantly, graduates of West Virginia University. Details matter. Little things make big things happen and attention to detail reflects our commitment to excellence. [U]Integrity is a must. We will win with honor, and we will not compromise our values to achieve our goals.[/U] [B]Gee loves Kneel. Go suck a d@$k if you disagree.[/B] This is a unique and exciting time in college athletics. The emergence of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the addition of four new members to the Big 12 in 2023 provide us with new challenges and new opportunities. West Virginians are renowned for their toughness, unwavering grit and resiliency, and these virtues give me confidence that we will embrace this new era of college athletics as our chance to innovate, invest and thrive. To accomplish our goals, we will need all of us pulling in the same direction. One of my favorite quotes comes from Helen Keller: "I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something. I will not refuse to do something I can do." [B]But we still expect your money even if you hate the product and our decision making. That is the only reason I got this gig so don't f#&k it up for me.[/B] Every member of Mountaineer Nation can do something to help elevate our programs and achieve our goals. You can attend games. You can join the Mountaineer Athletic Club. You can support NIL opportunities for our student-athletes. You can be an ambassador by spreading the word about WVU, its global impact and the many positive things happening in athletics and on campus. [B]And here is a shameless plug on how many many ways you can financially enable a completely f#$ked up department that considers a 5 win season the bees knees.[/B] Let me close with another one of my favorite quotes, this one from the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi: "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can capture excellence." [B]We're going to suck but we'll look like we're trying really hard. [/B] I am so excited for our journey ahead and I am confident we will achieve excellence together. [B]So stoked to get PAID!![/B] I look forward to seeing you at one of our athletic events in the near future. [B]But only if you're dumb enough to give me money to enable this **** show for as long as possible. I gots kids to feed.[/B] Let's Go Mountaineers! Wren "Stimpy" Baker Vice President and Director of Athletics [/QUOTE]
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