West Virginia University president James P. Clements seems to believe he has hired a Midas man.
“In my eyes, everything he touches turns to gold, he’s a true leader,” Clements said of Oliver Luck.
Luck, 50, a former standout quarterback for the Mountaineers, was hired as the new athletic director at West Virginia University Thursday.
A member of the university’s Board of Governors, Luck resigned from that post to become athletic director and will be paid a $390,000 base salary.
Ed Pastilong, the current West Virginia athletic director, will retire at the end of this month after 20 years in the position. Pastilong makes $225,000 annually.
Luck has been working as the president and general manager of the Houston Dynamo Major League Soccer team since 2005 and will continue to work with that franchise through the end of the year. He will oversee construction of a new stadium for the franchise.
Both Clements and Luck said such a juggling act between Houston and Morgantown will not interfere with Luck’s ability to lead the university’s athletic department, particularly in dealing with the tumult fueled by uncertainty about conference affiliations.
“We are planning a six-month transition period through the end of the year,” Luck said. “[Clements] and I have termed it kind of a NASCAR rolling start.”
To aid in the transition, Pastilong will be retained as director emeritus for two years.
“This is a particularly challenging time in intercollegiate athletics, given the chess moves that are being made,” Luck said. “I’m not sure, even as the dust settles, there will be a permanent solution to conference realignment. We need to make sure to protect, as best we can, West Virginia athletics and build onto what is, already, a great foundation.”
Others considered for the athletic director opening were Ohio athletic director Jim Schaus, Los Angeles Clippers vice president of communications Joe Safety, Kentucky deputy athletic director Rob Mullens and Missouri executive associate athletic director Whit Babcock.
According to a source close to the search, the other finalists were contacted late Wednesday night and informed that the university was canceling their formal interviews, many scheduled Friday near the Pittsburgh International Airport.
A former standout quarterback for the Mountaineers from 1978-81 and three-year starter, Luck was also a Rhodes Scholar finalist and graduated from West Virginia as an academic All-American.
Before working for the Dynamo, Luck was the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority CEO for four years.
He also served as the general manager of two World League of American Football franchises and was the vice president of business and development and the president and CEO of NFL Europe.
After playing for the Mountaineers, Luck was a second-round pick of the NFL’s Houston Oilers, playing for that franchise from 1982-86.
He earned a law degree from the University of Texas in 1987
