How West Virginia is WINNING in the Business of College Football | with Mike Chaudron

Let's shift gears a minute and talk about West Virginia.

You're obviously big on the business side of sports.

I've done a lot of shows talking about Wren Baker, the job he's done.

West Virginia, their ability to fundraise.

They had a record-breaking fundraising year, $111 million.

That was just on the giving side.

I didn't even count the business deals they've done.

through Golden Blue Enterprises and things like that.

Can you talk about West Virginia, the outside the box thinking they've done as an athletic department and some of the unique things they've been able to do to stay competitive in today's environment?

So first, really a credit to West Virginia.

I feel like they've been very aggressive and very innovative.

Um, so, you know, they, the, the golden blue enterprises is not just an NIL collective, you know, they they're building an enterprise around the brand and, you know, doing some licensing, like with the two points.

And I think that's very innovative.

There's a guy named Matt Baker, who is one of the best known, like college business analysts.

He, he consults with companies and he was telling me last week that, um, New Mexico stepped up the distilled spirits is the single biggest source of new revenue for colleges in their NIL deals and they like it New Mexico State is the second largest so the point and I think that that West Virginia is getting it better than most schools is you're having to transition from being a donor organization and raising money to creating money With your businesses.

So I think, you know, I really give a lot of credit to West Virginia because I think they're ahead of the curve in what they're doing and just, you know, really impressive.

And then obviously, you know, the...

the other deal that they're doing through baseball.

So I just think it's just really, really impressive what they're doing.

And my head is off to them because there are other schools who are fighting it tooth and nail, and

West Virginia's embracing it.

Yeah.

What's ironic about that, Mike, is when NIL first became a thing, West Virginia was late to the party, right? They were a year or two behind everybody else.

Yep.

So they bring your in Baker in and, and, and, and it's went completely the other direction.