Oliver Luck

After retiring from pro football, Luck earned a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1987. He graduated with honors,[6] then accepted a fellowship to study the European Union and its legal system in Germany.[7] Luck is also a long-time member of the American Council on Germany.[8] In 1990, he was the Republican nominee for Congress from West Virginia's 2nd congressional district, which included his alma mater, but was defeated by incumbent Democrat Harley O. Staggers Jr. An ethical controversy arose after his campaign used a mailing list generated by the non-profit Mountaineer Athletic Club to send a photo of himself as WVU's quarterback, along with a letter from Luck, to over 4000 of the club's contributors. A state ethics commission report subsequently found that the list had been generated at Luck's request, and Luck apologized.[9]

In 1991, he became general manager of the Frankfurt Galaxy of the fledgling World League of American Football. He held the post for two years until the league was suspended. Upon its resumption in 1995, he became general manager of the Rhein Fire, and was named league president the following year. Luck held that role until 2000, during which time he oversaw the league's rebranding as NFL Europe, intended to strengthen the connection between the league and its parent, the NFL.

In 2001 Luck was sworn in as Chief Executive Officer of the Houston Sports Authority. In this role he oversaw the operations of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority, the governmental entity created in 1997 to provide the financing, construction and management oversight of the three large sports and entertainment venues in Houston: Minute Maid Park (home of the Houston Astros), Reliant Stadium, (home of the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo), and the new Downtown multi-purpose arena (home of the Houston Rockets and Comets).

Prior to joining the Sports Authority, Luck was a top-ranking executive with the National Football League for more than ten years, where he served as Vice President of Business Development and President and CEO of NFL Europe. In 2005, he was named president of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. Luck worked with the City and County to create a publicly funded downtown soccer stadium, BBVA Compass Stadium, which opened to much fanfare in March 2012.[10]

On June 27, 2008, Luck was appointed by West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin to the West Virginia University Board of Governors, effective July 1.[6] On June 9, 2010, Luck was hired as the athletic director of West Virginia University. Two years later his name surfaced as a potential candidate to fill the open athletic director's slot at Stanford University, where his son Andrew played quarterback and one of his daughters played volleyball. But Luck announced on May 17, 2012, that he was staying at WVU.[11]

During Luck's tenure the WVU athletic program made significant changes, including: WVU's move from the Big East Conference to the Big 12 Conference;[12] the resignation of head football coach Bill Stewart and subsequent promotion of Dana Holgorsen to that spot;[13] and the firing of baseball coach Greg Van Zant,[14] instituted beer sales at football stadiums,[15] restructured the WVU compliance office,[16] and took the school off of major probation;[17] facilitated multi-media rights to IMG in a 12-year, $86million guaranteed deal,[18] added men's golf after a 32-year hiatus;[19] hired baseball coach Randy Mazey who led the team to a 3rd-place finish in the Big 12,[20] and organized state TIF funding to build a new baseball stadium eventually known as Monongalia County Ballpark.[21]

As of October 12, 2012, WVU amended Luck's employment agreement, extending his contract through 2017.[22]

On October 14, 2013, Luck was one of 13 members unanimously chosen by the College Football Playoff Management Committee[23] to select the four teams to compete in the first College Football Playoff which was to be held in 2015.

On December 17, 2014, the NCAA announced that Luck would take a newly created post as executive vice president for regulatory affairs. Luck is in charge of all national office regulatory functions, including academics, membership, eligibility, and enforcement. The position had been created by current NCAA president Mark Emmert as part of a major restructuring of his senior staff.[24] Notably, the NCAA offices are in Indianapolis, where Andrew played at the time.[25][26]

On June 5, 2018, the XFL announced that Luck would be the league's Commissioner and CEO.[27] After a start that was possibly "the best launch of a new sports league in the last 30 years, if not ever," [28] the league suspended play on Thursday March 12 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. On Thursday April 9, XFL owner Vince McMahon fired Oliver Luck two working days before the league filed for bankruptcy.[29][1][30] Luck sued XFL owner Vince McMahon for wrongful termination on April 21.[31] As XFL President Jeffrey Pollack noted: "Our shutdown and our bankruptcy filing had nothing to do with anything other than the pandemic. Our business was working, our proof of concept was successful, and we were on our way to a phenomenal first season."[28]

Luck is married to the former Kathy Wilson, with whom he has four children: Andrew, Mary Ellen, Emily, and Addison. The three oldest are graduates of Stanford University, where Andrew played football and Mary Ellen played volleyball. When Luck's NCAA employment was announced, Addison was attending Morgantown High School. Andrew played quarterback at Stanford and was selected number one overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2012 NFL Draft.[32][33][34][35]

In addition to his professional pursuits, Luck was actively involved as a coach for youth sports.

• Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference ·