MORGANTOWN — Despite the departure of director of athletics Shane Lyons Monday morning, there will be no changes made to the WVU football program in the immediate future, university President Gordon Gee said in a statement.
“We are supporting Coach Neal Brown and our team as we complete our season over the next few weeks,” Gee said. “We are aware there are some deficiencies, but we have not given up on the coach and the team, and they have not given up on each other. The evaluation of the football program will be the first task of our new athletic director and no changes will be made until that review has been completed.”
Brown is in his fourth year as the WVU football coach and carries a 21-24 record with two bowl appearances and one win. This season, the Mountaineers are 4-6 with an outside shot to become bowl eligible with wins over Kansas State and Oklahoma State to close the season.
WVU has retained the search firm Turnkey ZRG to assist in hiring a new athletic director. Gee plans to move quickly and have a new AD in place in three to four weeks, which will be after the football season has ended.
Lyons hired Brown in 2019 following a highly successful tenure as the head coach at Troy. After an 11-11 start to his WVU career, Lyons gave Brown a contract extension in April 2021 that pushed Brown’s deal through 2026 with an increase in pay.
That extension significantly increased Brown’s buyout if fired, a point of contention amid the team’s continued mediocrity. If dismissed after this season, Brown will receive 100% of his remaining contract, $16.7 million, in addition to his prorated salary for the rest of 2022.
WVU plays Kansas State in its final home game at 2 p.m. Saturday.
