The Pac-12 needs a new commissioner, and Oliver Luck is already being mentioned as a candidate for the job.
The Pac-12 on Wednesday announced that they were parting ways with Larry Scott, whose contract was up in June 2022. The move is being made now to get a new commissioner in place ahead of the conference’s 2024 TV negotiations for college football.
One person whose name has been coming up frequently as a candidate is Luck, according to Bruce Feldman and Pete Thamel.
Name I've heard from several folks around college athletics about who would be a well-regarded successor to Larry Scott running the Pac-12: Oliver Luck, former CEO of the XFL and WVU athletic director. "He makes a lot of sense… so they probably wouldn't do it."
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 21, 2021
The early read on candidates to replace Larry Scott is that they need direct college experience, football savvy, media experience and a relationship builder. Early potential names include Oliver Luck, Bernard Muir, Gloria Nevarez, Burke Magnus, Dan Radakovich and Gene Smith.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 21, 2021
Luck, 60, was a college quarterback who played in the NFL briefly. He later became the athletic director at his alma mater, West Virginia. He was a president for NFL Europe, has worked for the NCAA, has experience as an AD, and most recently, he was the XFL commissioner. Luck is extremely qualified for the position, and he would be a great fit. His son, Andrew, also played in the Pac-12 at Stanford.
Luck is suing the XFL over the way things unfolded at the league, which shuttered last year. If he is interested, he would be perfect. The conference of course probably won’t hire him seeing as how much they’ve botched things recently.
