Darian DeVries’ contract with Indiana reportedly guarantees him nearly $5 million per year through the 2030-31 season.
West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker addressed DeVries’ departure during a press conference on Wednesday, explaining that the university made a serious effort to retain him. Baker described their approach as “aggressive,” stating that the administration was prepared to make a strong financial commitment to keep DeVries in Morgantown.
“From a resource standpoint, we were ready to push our limits, but there are always programs with deeper pockets,” Baker said. “We started discussions in early February, reaching out to his agent to ensure we were recognizing his success. Over the last few weeks, I had multiple conversations with him about his contract and compensation, and we shared a clear vision for building the program. Nearly every open job inquired about him, but to my knowledge, he only engaged with one Indiana. I don’t think it was a matter of him being unhappy here.”
Despite their efforts, West Virginia never got the opportunity to make a final counteroffer before DeVries accepted Indiana’s deal.
“I told him we wanted a chance to respond if Indiana made an offer, but the way things played out, we never got that opportunity,” Baker admitted.
West Virginia’s proposal was “competitive,” and Baker believes there was a real possibility DeVries would have stayed if a counteroffer had been made. Now, Indiana will pay West Virginia more than $6 million to buy out DeVries’ contract funds that WVU can allocate toward hiring a new head coach.
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