Oliver Luck - Post-football Career

Post-football Career

After retiring from football, Luck received a J.D. from the University of Texas, graduating in 1987 with honors, and he practiced law in Germany. In 1990, he was the Republican nominee for Congress from West Virginia's Second Congressional District, which included his alma mater West Virginia University, but he was defeated by incumbent Democrat Harley 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.

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.

On June 27, 2008, Luck was appointed by West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin to the West Virginia University Board of Governors, effective July 1. 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.

During Luck's tenure, the WVU athletic program has made significant changes, including: WVU's move from the Big East Conference to the Big 12 Conference; the resignation of head football coach Bill Stewart and subsequent promotion of Dana Holgorsen to that spot; and the firing of baseball coach Greg Van Zant.

As of October 12, 2012, West Virginia University amended Luck's employment agreement, extending his contract through 2017.