Four months ago, Vince McMahon announced his plans to relaunch the XFL and today he has announced his pick to be commissioner of the league—which is planned to start playing games in 2020. McMahon has selected Oliver Luck for the job.
And if the name sounds familiar to you—yes Oliver Luck is the father of NFL superstar, former number one overall pick and quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, Andrew Luck. Although his son is more well-known then he is, Oliver did play in the NFL also. He was drafted in the second round of the 1982 draft and played four years with the Houston Oilers.
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After his NFL playing days were over Oliver Luck graduated from the University of Texas law school in 1987 and had a nice career in college and pro sports management. Then, in 2014 Luck became the executive vice-president of regulatory affairs and strategic partnerships for the NCAA.
He also has upper management experience in football as he serves as the president of NFL Europe (the league no longer exists) and was also the GM for two German teams in said league. After that, Luck took on the role of president and GM of the Houston Dynamos of the MLS. Under his watch, they won two MLS Cup championships.
TSN quotes Luck as saying:"Football has always been a constant in my life and I'm excited about the unique opportunity to present America's favorite sport to fans in a new way... The XFL will create first-class organizations that local cities across the country will be proud of."
Obviously, Vince was impressed with Luck's experience (and having the father of a big-time NFL superstar probably didn't hurt either). In a statement, McMahon said:
"Oliver and I share the same vision and passion for reimagining the game of football," McMahon said in a statement. "His experience as both an athlete and executive will ensure the long-term success of the XFL."
It's that "long-term" part that everyone is waiting to see. Given that McMahon's first XFL-try back in 2001 opened to huge ratings but those fell quickly and the league shut down after just one season.