Oliver Luck
Encyclopedia
Oliver Luck is the athletic director
of West Virginia University
, his alma mater
. Luck is a retired American football
player who spent four seasons in the National Football League (NFL)
as a quarterback
for the Houston Oilers
(1983–1986). He was also the first president and general manager of the Houston Dynamo
of Major League Soccer (MLS)
. Under his watch, the Dynamo won the MLS Cup
in 2006
and 2007
.
He is the father of current Stanford Cardinal
quarterback Andrew Luck
.
, playing quarterback from 1978–1981. In his freshman season, Luck only had 151 yards passing and 5 interceptions
. As a sophomore in 1979, he passed for 1,292 yards and 8 touchdowns, but threw 12 interceptions. He also rushed
for 407 yards and 5 touchdown
s, including a career-high 120 yards against Tulane
.
In his junior season of 1980, Oliver Luck earned first-team Academic All-America
n honors. Luck's 19 touchdown passes was a school record, while he also added 1,874 yards. As a senior in 1981, he led the Mountaineers to the Peach Bowl where they defeated the Florida Gators
by a score of 26–6. Also being named Academic All-American for the second consecutive season, Luck threw for a school record 216 completions
and 394 attempts to add to his 2,448 yards and 16 touchdowns. He added career-highs 360 passing yards and a school-record 34 completions in a loss to Syracuse that season.
Luck, who was a three-year starter
, ended his career with school records of 43 career touchdown passes, 466 completions, and 911 pass attempts. His 5,765 career passing yards currently ranks fourth on the all-time school list. Luck still ranks in the top ten in nearly every career passing category.
Oliver Luck was also a finalist to be a Rhodes Scholar (but he did not obtain the scholarship), a National Football Foundation Scholar and a two-time GTE
/CoSIDA Academic All-American who graduated magna cum laude from WVU in 1982. He was named the team MVP in 1980 and 1981 and won the 1981 Louis D. Meisel Award. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
by the Houston Oilers. He was the third quarterback selected, after Art Schlichter
(4th to Baltimore
) and Jim McMahon
(5th to Chicago
). As a rookie
Luck saw no action. In his second season, the Oilers inserted him at the starting quarterback position, from which he threw eight touchdowns and 13 interceptions, completing 124 of 217 pass attempts. He threw for only 1,375 yards, as the Oilers struggled to a 2–14 record.
In 1984, the Oilers signed Canadian Football League
star Warren Moon
. Oliver Luck played as Moon's back-up for the majority of the season. He completed 22 of 36 pass attempts for 256 yards, two of which were touchdown passes while having only one pass intercepted. Luck also had some success running the ball: he carried the ball 10 times for 75 yards and scored one touchdown.
In 1985 and 1986, Luck continued to play back-up to Moon. He threw 100 passes in 1985, completing 56 of them with two touchdowns and two interceptions. In 1986, Luck's final season in the NFL, he completed 31 of 60 passes for 341 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions, contributing to an Oilers' passing offense that finished 23rd out of 28 teams.
. 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 GM 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 over ten years, where he served as Vice President of Business Development and President and CEO of NFL Europe.
Luck was recently named to the Academic All American Hall of Fame.
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.
as an academic All-American, and was also a Rhodes Scholar finalist. He received a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law
in 1987.
Luck is married to the former Kathy Wilson, with whom he has four children: Andrew
, Mary Ellen, Emily, and Addison. Andrew plays quarterback for Stanford University
.
In addition to his professional pursuits, Luck is actively involved as a coach for youth sports.
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
of West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
, his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
. Luck is a retired American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who spent four seasons in the National Football League (NFL)
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
as a quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Houston Oilers
History of the Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are the professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the then-Houston, Texas, team began play in 1960 as a...
(1983–1986). He was also the first president and general manager of the Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...
of Major League Soccer (MLS)
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
. Under his watch, the Dynamo won the MLS Cup
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...
in 2006
MLS Cup 2006
The 2006 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2006 Major League Soccer season, played on November 12, 2006 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo. Houston won 4-3 on penalty kicks, after a 1-1 draw following extra time...
and 2007
MLS Cup 2007
The 2007 MLS Cup was the 12th edition of the MLS Cup championship game. The match was played on November 18, 2007 between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo — a rematch of the 2006 MLS Cup final. For the second straight year, the Dynamo defeated the Revolution, this time by a 2-1...
.
He is the father of current Stanford Cardinal
Stanford Cardinal football
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
quarterback Andrew Luck
Andrew Luck
Andrew Austen Luck is an American football quarterback for Stanford University. He was the runner-up for the 2010 Heisman Trophy, and is considered a leading contender for the 2011 Heisman Trophy. He was a finalist for the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award, the Davey O'Brien Award and the...
.
Collegiate career
Luck attended St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland where he was a standout quarterback. He then enrolled at West Virginia UniversityWest Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
, playing quarterback from 1978–1981. In his freshman season, Luck only had 151 yards passing and 5 interceptions
Interception (football)
An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...
. As a sophomore in 1979, he passed for 1,292 yards and 8 touchdowns, but threw 12 interceptions. He also rushed
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
for 407 yards and 5 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s, including a career-high 120 yards against Tulane
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
.
In his junior season of 1980, Oliver Luck earned first-team Academic All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n honors. Luck's 19 touchdown passes was a school record, while he also added 1,874 yards. As a senior in 1981, he led the Mountaineers to the Peach Bowl where they defeated the Florida Gators
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
by a score of 26–6. Also being named Academic All-American for the second consecutive season, Luck threw for a school record 216 completions
Completion (American football)
A completion is a term used in American football when a receiver successfully catches a pass. The three possible outcomes of a pass thrown are completion, incompletion, and interception, respectively....
and 394 attempts to add to his 2,448 yards and 16 touchdowns. He added career-highs 360 passing yards and a school-record 34 completions in a loss to Syracuse that season.
Luck, who was a three-year starter
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
, ended his career with school records of 43 career touchdown passes, 466 completions, and 911 pass attempts. His 5,765 career passing yards currently ranks fourth on the all-time school list. Luck still ranks in the top ten in nearly every career passing category.
Oliver Luck was also a finalist to be a Rhodes Scholar (but he did not obtain the scholarship), a National Football Foundation Scholar and a two-time GTE
GTE
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System....
/CoSIDA Academic All-American who graduated magna cum laude from WVU in 1982. He was named the team MVP in 1980 and 1981 and won the 1981 Louis D. Meisel Award. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Professional career
Oliver Luck was selected with the 17th pick of the second round (44th overall) in the 1982 NFL Draft1982 NFL Draft
The 1982 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982...
by the Houston Oilers. He was the third quarterback selected, after Art Schlichter
Art Schlichter
Arthur Ernest Schlichter is a retired college and professional American football quarterback, sometimes known for his compulsive gambling and the legal problems especially gambling that arose from it...
(4th to Baltimore
History of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
) and Jim McMahon
Jim McMahon
James Robert "Jim" McMahon, Jr. is a former American football player. He played college football at Brigham Young University, where he was a two-time All-American and later in the professional ranks with the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona...
(5th to Chicago
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
). As a rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
Luck saw no action. In his second season, the Oilers inserted him at the starting quarterback position, from which he threw eight touchdowns and 13 interceptions, completing 124 of 217 pass attempts. He threw for only 1,375 yards, as the Oilers struggled to a 2–14 record.
In 1984, the Oilers signed Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
star Warren Moon
Warren Moon
Harold Warren Moon is a former American professional gridiron football quarterback who played for the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos and the National Football League's Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs...
. Oliver Luck played as Moon's back-up for the majority of the season. He completed 22 of 36 pass attempts for 256 yards, two of which were touchdown passes while having only one pass intercepted. Luck also had some success running the ball: he carried the ball 10 times for 75 yards and scored one touchdown.
In 1985 and 1986, Luck continued to play back-up to Moon. He threw 100 passes in 1985, completing 56 of them with two touchdowns and two interceptions. In 1986, Luck's final season in the NFL, he completed 31 of 60 passes for 341 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions, contributing to an Oilers' passing offense that finished 23rd out of 28 teams.
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 GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. 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
Frankfurt Galaxy
The Frankfurt Galaxy was a professional American football team that originally played in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. The team was based in Frankfurt, Germany and played in the Commerzbank-Arena, formerly called the Waldstadion.-History:In 1991, the...
of the fledgling World League of American Football
World League of American Football
The World League of American Football was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in North America, Europe and later possibly Asia...
. He held the post for two years until the league was suspended. Upon its resumption in 1995 he became GM of the Rhein Fire
Rhein Fire
The Rhein Fire was a professional American football team in NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Germany in 1995, the franchise resurrected the name of the former Birmingham Fire team which was active during the 1991-1992 WLAF seasons.-History:The team was...
, 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
NFL Europe
NFL Europe was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Backed by the National Football League , the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football to serve as a type of spring league...
, 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 over ten years, where he served as Vice President of Business Development and President and CEO of NFL Europe.
Luck was recently named to the Academic All American Hall of Fame.
In 2005, he was named president of the Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...
of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
. On June 27, 2008, Luck was appointed by West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin
Joe Manchin
Joseph "Joe" Manchin III is the junior United States Senator representing West Virginia. Manchin, a Democrat, was Governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010...
to the West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
Board of Governors, effective July 1. On June 9, 2010 Luck was hired as the Athletic Director of West Virginia University.
Personal life
Luck graduated from West Virginia UniversityWest Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
as an academic All-American, and was also a Rhodes Scholar finalist. He received a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law, also known as UT Law, is an ABA-certified American law school located on the University of Texas at Austin campus. The law school has been in operation since the founding of the University in 1883. It was one of only two schools at the University when it was...
in 1987.
Luck is married to the former Kathy Wilson, with whom he has four children: Andrew
Andrew Luck
Andrew Austen Luck is an American football quarterback for Stanford University. He was the runner-up for the 2010 Heisman Trophy, and is considered a leading contender for the 2011 Heisman Trophy. He was a finalist for the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award, the Davey O'Brien Award and the...
, Mary Ellen, Emily, and Addison. Andrew plays quarterback for Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
In addition to his professional pursuits, Luck is actively involved as a coach for youth sports.