West Virginia University Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker announced today (July 14) that Ben Murray will return to Morgantown as deputy athletics director, serving as the department’s chief development officer and providing oversight to the Mountaineer Athletic Club (MAC).
Murray previously spent time at West Virginia from 2010-21, starting as a major gifts officer, then associate athletics director before ending his tenure as the senior associate athletics director and executive director of the MAC.
As WVU’s newest deputy athletics director, he will manage, lead and direct all development efforts for athletics, including but not limited to the annual fund, endowments, capital projects and major gifts. He will serve on the senior leadership teams in athletics and the WVU Foundation, with additional sport oversight duties to be determined.
“I am excited to bring Ben and his family back home to West Virginia,” Baker said. “In my short time here at WVU, his name has come up with our donors on many occasions as they enjoyed working with him and appreciated his successful tenure. There is no doubt that fundraising is a critical part of our department, and we are entering a critical time financially. It became very clear that Ben Murray was the right person to lead our fundraising efforts and have an expanded role in our department.”
Murray returns to Morgantown from Nebraska, where he has spent the last two years serving as the Huskers’ senior associate athletics director for development, leading all fundraising initiatives with additional oversight of ticket operations.
He managed a Husker development team that exceeded $100 million in contributions combined during the last two years, while topping more than $80 million in ticket revenue during the two-year span. He managed Nebraska’s “Go Big Campaign” and led the transition to new stadium club seats, bringing in an additional $3.8 million to the athletics department.
“We’re really excited to have Ben back as part of our fundraising team,” said B.J. Davisson, WVU Foundation executive vice president and chief development officer. “He’s a proven leader in the sports development arena, a known commodity among Mountaineer nation and someone who we’re very confident can get the job done at a challenging time.”
While leading the MAC in his first stint at West Virginia, Murray oversaw the solicitation
efforts for a combined total of $100.1 million in production from 2017-21. From
2017 to his departure, his MAC unit increased the overall Athletic Endowment Fund
from $35 to $45 million.
Murray also spent time as the director of athletics development at Old Dominion
from 2006-10. He coordinated, planned and administered the Old Dominion Athletics
Foundation annual giving program. Murray started his professional career in August
of 2003 at James Madison as a development associate in the JMU Duke Club. He also
spent time at UNLV in 2005 working with the Rebel Athletic Fund.
"I am excited to be returning to West Virginia University. I appreciate Wren Baker, Steve Uryasz and the WVU Foundation Leadership team for giving me this the opportunity,” Murray said. “Our team will work tirelessly to establish and maintain quality relationships with all fans and alumni who have an interest in WVU Athletics. Our staff will be easily accessible and provide honest, transparent communication to all those who are invested in our department. I look forward to working with the great donors, fans, coaches and staff at WVU, and my family and I can't wait to be Mountaineers again.”
Murray graduated from Kansas in 2001 with a degree in sports management and earned a master’s in sports administration from Kansas in 2003. An Elkhart, Kansas, native, Murray and his wife, Angela, have three children – Mia, Libby and Sadie.