Baker explains how WVU’s scholarship increase helps the major sports and how it’s funded
West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker joined this week’s 3 Guys Before the Game podcast to talk more about the university’s decision to expand its athletic scholarships from 260 to 400 starting in 2026-27.
The move is a major boost for Olympic sports, but Baker said it also sets the table for football and men’s basketball to compete at a higher level in the new roster-based model that’s replacing traditional scholarship limits.
Strengthening football and basketball
Baker said the additional scholarships help in two major ways: freeing up resources for the revenue sports and improving overall roster depth.
“This shores up our Olympic sports and allows us to focus on two things, making sure the revenue sports have what they need and helping grow real NIL deals across the region and state,” Baker said.
Football gains 16 more scholarships under the plan, allowing the program to carry 105 roster spots with 101 scholarships. Baker said that change should make an immediate difference.
“You’re going to be able to recruit and retain better from a depth standpoint,” he said. “I’d expect us to be top four or five in the Big 12 in overall resources next year.”
He also believes the timing benefits head coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff heading into year two.
“We’re laying a foundation to build something really special,” Baker said. “Year two, you generally see that big jump.”
Men’s basketball doesn’t directly gain scholarship spots, but Baker said the change still helps by removing pressure on fundraising and NIL resources that were previously used to support Olympic sports.
“Now our fundraising team can go raise money for improvements and above-the-cap NIL opportunities,” he said. “That’s going to be the next differentiator.”
Funding the expansion
Baker said the university and athletic department worked together on a plan that allows the increase without putting additional strain on the budget. The key was securing in-state tuition rates for all WVU athletes.
“We’ll still pay for the scholarships, but at the in-state rate instead of out-of-state,” Baker said. “That’s significant savings and allows us to apply those savings toward the new scholarships.”
He called the in-state tuition change “a decades-long ask finally getting done” and credited WVU President Michael Benson, the Board of Governors, and new revenue from partnerships like the Hope Coliseum naming-rights deal for helping make it possible.
“Everybody came together on this,” Baker said. “The Board of Governors, President Benson, and campus leadership wanted to help athletics move into that top funding tier, and this is a big step toward that.”
Baker added that WVU will also sunset the Austin academic incentive payments, replacing them with scholarships that count toward the department’s revenue-sharing limit.
“We’ll share the full amount on revenue share and identify above-the-cap NIL deals,” he said. “This model helps us do both.”
Looking ahead
Baker called the scholarship expansion “a major, major thing” for WVU’s future, saying it strengthens every sport while giving football and basketball the flexibility needed to grow competitively and financially.
“It’s not the end-all, be-all forever,” he said. “But it gives us a much better situation to compete in for the next several years.”
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