Pac-12: 5 great choices to be the next commissioner
Oliver Luck
This is an interesting choice. Aside from his son Andrew playing football at Stanford, Oliver Luck has very few ties to the Pac-12. That’s okay because he makes up for it in other areas and checks many, many boxes the conference needs.
Luck was a four-year college quarterback at West Virginia (player – check). After four uneventful seasons with Houston Oilers, he went back to school and earned a law degree (lawyer – check). In 1991, Luck became an executive with the World League of American Football/ NFL Europe. That was part of a 10-year tenure with the NFL, where he rose to Vice President of Business Development (business partnerships – check).
From there, Luck became the CEO of the Houston Sports Authority. He was in charge of all sporting venues in the city. (facilities and event management – check, check). He left Houston to become the Athletic Director at his alma mater from 2008-2014 (college athletic administration – check). One of his biggest moves was to take WVU from the Big East to the Pac-12 (handling conference negotiations – check).
If Luck’s career stopped at this point, it would almost be enough, but he was far from done. His next move was to the NCAA. Luck was the Executive Vice President of Regulatory Affairs (former NCAA insider – check), which was in charge of NCAA regulations and investigations (NCAA compliance – check).
Finishing School
His most recent job was Commissioner and CEO of the XFL. The creation of WWE CEO Vince McMahon, the XFL was doing well before it closed permanently when the coronavirus cut short its first season. Say what you want about McMahon, but he’s a master of marketing and promotion. Luck was part of the XFL’s team that negotiated their television contract with ABC/ESPN and FOX (television contracts – check).
Other career highlights include: CEO of the MLS Houston Dynamo, a seat on the West Virginia University Board of Governors, and a member of the NCAA’s first football playoff committee.
It would be hard to find someone more qualified.
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Who do you think should be the next Pac12 Commissioner? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.