According to sources, West Virginia has decided to part ways with Lyons. A combination of budget issues and the school's struggling football program resulted in a change in direction for Lyons. According to sources, the school has not decided on Neal Brown's future.
Brown's uncertain status as he's 21-24 in four seasons and is one loss from his third losing season is highlighted by Lyons' departure.
West Virginia's nine-game losing streak to the Sooners was snapped by Brown, but the Mountaineers are not out of the woods yet.
According to sources, Lyons is expected to be replaced by Rob Alsop on an interim basis. The placement of someone from the president's executive staff is an indication of the direction the school wants to go.
The hire of an athletic director is expected to be done quickly if the school makes a change in football coach. In recent years, it has become a common practice to allow the new AD to be with a new coach they help pick.
If Brown is let go after the regular season, it will mean the departure of Lyons. There is an offset in the contract that could reduce that amount for WVU, but there has been a lot of second-guessing of the decision to give Brown an extension. A large portion of his contract was guaranteed by that move.
The financial strain on the athletic department will be a result of WVU moving on from Brown. One of the criticisms of Lyons is that he wasn't creative and aggressive enough in finding new revenue streams, so someone with a strong business background might be desirable in the search for a new athletic director.
Lyons came to West Virginia from Alabama where he was the deputy athletic director. Lyons has chaired the Big 12 athletic directors and served on the NCAA's football oversight committee. He is a member of the NCAA transformation committee.
Alsop has a political background. He graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in law. Earl Ray Tomblin and Joe Manchin were both governors of West Virginia.
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