Northwest Missouri State University announced Wren Baker as the University’s next director of athletics. Baker has served since 2006 as director of athletics at Rogers State University in Claremore, Okla., where he was the first athletics director in the school’s history.
“Northwest is pleased to have Wren and his wife, Heather, join the Bearcat team,” Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski said. “Wren is committed to creating an environment focused on the principles of the DII student-athlete experience and building upon Northwest’s athletic successes both in the competitive arena and in the classroom. He and his teams have track records of success, and he brings a model based on student success and academic integrity, high expectations and strategic intent to Northwest.”
Baker starts his new role in mid-February.
At Rogers State, Baker started the school’s athletics program from scratch and led the men’s basketball team to a 20-11 record in its inaugural season. In 2008, he stepped away from coaching basketball to focus on growing Rogers State athletics, which now fields 10 teams. Baker initiated fundraising campaigns and oversaw multimillion dollar improvements to four different athletics facilities. Additionally, Baker hired seven head coaches to start new sports programs at Rogers State, which has won roughly 70 percent of its athletics contests.
From 2005 to 2006, Baker was director of athletics and principal of Valliant Public Schools where he set records for gift-giving to the athletics department. From 2001 to 2005, while a member of head coach Eddie Sutton’s men’s basketball staff at Oklahoma State University, Baker worked with associate athletic directors to establish and implement new NCAA and conference rules.
Baker succeeds Dr. Bob Boerigter, who resigned from the University in September to become commissioner of the MIAA.
