WE HAVE THE MONEY!” — Wren Baker CONFIRMS WVU Can Keep Its Young Stars?!

Wren Baker just delivered MASSIVE news for the future of West Virginia football. One of the biggest questions surrounding Rich Rodriguez’s rebuild has been simple: WVU is bringing in all of this young talent — but what happens when those players become stars? Can West Virginia actually afford to KEEP them? Wren Baker just gave us an answer. “We have the money to retain these guys and we’re going to.” That is a HUGE statement from West Virginia’s athletic director. Baker says WVU has already climbed into the top half of the Big 12 in player spending, estimating the Mountaineers are somewhere around 5th–7th in the conference. And going into next year? WVU has increased that budget “quite a bit” specifically to make sure the money is there for RETENTION. In today’s Locked On West Virginia, we break down why this could completely change the trajectory of Rich Rodriguez’s rebuild, why WVU’s strategy of recruiting freshmen and multi-year players suddenly makes even more sense, and how keeping this young core together could turn a rebuild into a sustainable PROGRAM. WVU isn’t guaranteeing that every single player will stay. But Baker is making something extremely important clear: West Virginia intends to have the financial resources necessary to fight for the players it wants to keep. Recruit. Develop. RETAIN. If Rich Rodriguez hits on this young roster, 2026 might not be the culmination of WVU’s rebuild. It might just be the beginning.