WVU is 'On the Verge' of Adding a Sponsorship Patch to Game Uniforms

Wren Baker has found another way to generate revenue.

West Virginia University Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Being an athletic director is no longer just about hiring coaches, scheduling games, and overseeing facilities and projects. Now, it includes being a fundraiser. Well, let's be honest, that's always been a part of the job description, but in this new era of college sports, it's taken on a whole new meaning.

For WVU to compete in the Big 12 and nationally, they have to find ways to generate revenue despite not having a long list of billionaire or millionaire donors to lean on, and a state that ranks 47th in annual average wage.

One thing that has always seemed very possible was a sponsor patch on the team's jerseys. According to WVU athletic director Wren Baker, they are close to getting something done on that front.

“We’ve really tried to put ourselves kind of in that upper tier, upper third of the Big 12 whenever we can. That’s been a goal of our board. It’s been a goal of our administration and campus, both in athletics and with President Benson. It becomes how do you find that? And we’re doing that every way we can," Baker said in an interview with Front Office Sports. "We’ve pushed on ticket sales where we can, certainly, corporate sponsorships. We named the Coliseum here. We’re on the verge of getting a patch sponsorship done. Anything we can do to create new revenue. I think our budget’s grown by about 50% over the last four years, and so that’s been an important part of trying to make sure our coaches have what they need to compete. If you were to ask them, they could all use more, of course, but we try to put everybody in the best position that we can.”

The company, of course, is unknown at this time, but you can guarantee that Baker and the board are going to be very careful with their selection, as Baker himself detailed at the end of spring when asked about sponsorship deals. "With our presence in the state, when we do a deal like that, it needs to be the right partner that has the right values that we can collectively can agree on how we want our brands co-branded and co-mingled.”

There are also no details at this time as to whether this patch will be for football, basketball, both, or perhaps all sports at WVU. If it is just for one sport, I would be willing to bet that eventually all teams will have them. The NCAA allows a maximum of two sponsorship patches on uniforms, and they can not be larger than four square inches per logo.