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12 June 2010
MORGANTOWN - Luring Oliver Luck back to his alma mater as West Virginia's athletic director wasn't as much about offering him the job as it was convincing him to take it.
He was far and away the most appealing and desirable candidate from the start, even more so than when he was recruited to play quarterback for the Mountaineers in 1978, and it took some sweet-talking.
But first-year WVU president James P. Clements managed to win him over.
"President Clements is a tremendous recruiter," Luck said. "He reminds me of Don Nehlen in his best days or even Frank Cignetti in his best days, who was the coach who brought me to WVU."
Luck, the former WVU quarterback, Rhodes Scholar finalist, NFL player and for the past two decades a professional sports executive, was formally announced as West Virginia's new athletic director Thursday morning.
He will replace the retiring Ed Pastilong beginning July 1, although for the first six months of his tenure he will split his time between his new job and his current post as president of Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo.
Luck's contract has not been written, but on Wednesday he signed a letter of agreement with the university that stipulates the initial contract will be for five years and pay him $390,000 per year.
"It's an incredible honor for me to be appointed as athletic director at my alma mater," Luck said during a conference call Thursday morning. "I care deeply about the school."
Still, it took considerable politicking by Clements to convince Luck to return to Morgantown. Not only is he deeply involved in a major stadium project for his soccer team in Houston, Luck also has family considerations. His oldest son, Andrew, begins his third year at Stanford in the fall and is the team's starting quarterback, considered one of the best in the country. He also has a daughter who begins school at Stanford in the fall and two younger children in school in Houston.
Luck reportedly said several times that he was not interested in the WVU job because of both his professional and personal situations, but Clements wouldn't say that Luck had turned down the position.
