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Pete ThamelESPN
West Virginia will keep football coach Neal Brown for the 2023 season, the school announced on Wednesday.
The decision comes in the wake of a 5-7 season that saw the Mountaineers win two of their final three games, upsetting both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Brown has had just one winning season in four years, and he has an overall record of 22-25.
Brown would have been owed nearly $17 million if fired. That remaining guaranteed money is one of the reasons that the school fired athletic director Shane Lyons in mid-November. That contract still runs through 2026, which means a buyout of nearly $13 million at this time next year.
The formal decision on Brown arrived the same day that WVU finalized the hire of new athletic director Wren Baker, who comes from North Texas. The decision on Brown’s status coming four days after the season and the timing of the new hire suggest the decision had largely been made before the athletic director search came to a conclusion.
West Virginia has struggled to find its footing since joining the Big 12 in 2012, as the school has just one 10-win season over that time. Brown arrived at WVU from Troy, where he went 35-16 over four years.
West Virginia opens next season at Penn State and also hosts rival Pittsburgh in a nonconference game.