- Thread starter
- #1
bbwvfan
Well-Known Member
- 5,446
- 1,689
- 173
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2013
- Hoopla Cash
- $ 1,000.00
- Fav. Team #1
- Fav. Team #2
- Fav. Team #3
Change marks
4 years of his
administration
READ PART TWO of the
Luck interview in Monday’s
newspaper.
BY DREW RUBENSTEIN
The Dominion Post
The first term of Oliver
Luck ’s tenure as WVU
athletic director has been
defined by change.
The Dick Martin-era
chairs in Luck’s secondfloor
Coliseum office may
have seen more major
changes since his arrival
than during the tenures
of Martin (1978-’81), Fred
Schaus (1981-’89) and
Ed Pastilong (1989-2010)
combined.
In nearly four years on
the job, Luck has hired
and/or promoted six people
within his top administrative
team, and hired
and/or replaced eight
head coaches (WVU has
15 varsity head coaches).
He helped orchestrate the
university ’s 2012 move
from the Big East Conference
to the Big 12, restructured
the student services
department and oversawthe process that led the
school to sign a 12-year deal
with IMG College for its
multimedia rights.
In recent months, he replaced
veteran wrestling
coach Craig Turnbull with
Sammie Henson, hired the
school ’s first men’s golf coach
in 32 years —Sean Covich —
unveiled plans for $100 million
in athletic facility improvements,
and reached a
settlement to end the tenure
of longtime deputy athletic
director Mike Parsons.
Luck said he is satisfied
with the reorganization,
and when he projects where
WVU is headed, he likes
what he sees.
“I think we’re in a great
spot,” Luck said.
“We ’re a member in one
of the five conferences that
really will receive a lot of
autonomy. We’re one of the
top-65 schools in the country
when it comes to athletic
programs. That’s
something to be said.
“We ’re receiving dollars
that are at the same levels as
most of our other peer institutions,
which is very important
because without funds
to modernize and upgrade and
build new facilities ... it’s very
difficult to compete.”
Luck said much work remains
but he’s relieved
WVU is where it is.
“Some of the old Big East
schools made it and some
didn’t,” Luck said. “I think
we ’re very fortunate to be in
the position we’re in, particularly
given the fact that
there was no invitation from
the ACC, was no invitation
from the Big Ten, was no
invitation from the SEC.
We ’re very fortunate to be in
the position we’re in.”
Luck ’s comments came
during The Dominion Post’s
first sit-down interview with
LUCK
FROM PAGE 1-C
him in more than a year.
What follows are some other
highlights of the interview.
A final segment of information
from the session will
run in Monday’s edition.
OLIVER LUCK on the
big picture for WVU athletics:
We’ve maximized the
value of a lot of our rights,
which has allowed us to receive
guaranteed contracts
from folks, which has in
turn allowed us to issue a
bond and build new facilities.
We’ve taken a lot of
our programs that struggled
with support from the
department, struggled on
the field or on the court.
Volleyball and baseball are
good examples, and we’re
trying to upgrade those so
that we can be competitive
in a competitive conference.
We don’t want any of our
teams to be a bottom-feeder.
That’s wrong for kids and
wrong for the program.
We ’ve got a lot of work to
do. We’re in a conference
with schools that are in the
top tier in the nation,
whether Texas or Oklahoma
or Baylor, which are
in very robust and wealthy
states with lots of big-money
donors and can build
brand-new stadiums simply
by raising money, which is
simply incredible. My hat’s
off to my people down there
in Texas. So we’ve got a lot
of work to continue to do,
but I think we’re in the best
spot we’ve ever been in.
We ’ve got lots of challenges,
but I think the television
payouts, our relationship
with IMG has allowed
us to go do these things. I
don’t know the last time we
spent $100 million on infrastructure
in a two- or threeyear
period. I don’t know the
last time we spent $50 million
on infrastructure in a twoor
three-year period. …The
bar has certainly been
raised, and we want to
achieve that. It takes an entire
state and an entire community
of folks to support
that because it’s very difficult
to do when we’re competing
against some of the
best in the country. We really
need everybody on
board, being supportive and
working with us. Because
folks that are detractors really
create distractions and
make it harder for us to
achieve our goal.
THE DOMINION
POST: When there have
been so many changes, issues
are going to bubble
up, so to now get everyone
united —how do you
do that?
OL: We communicate a
lot. We go on the (Mountaineer
Athletic Club) tour,
we go to Wheeling, we talk
to folks. We have our coaches
out there talking to people.
It should be, to a degree,
self-evident that as the flagship
school of the state, the
only school in the state that
is in the category of the toptier
schools, a school that
will be mixing it up with
flagship schools around the
country, it seems to me to be
self-evident that if you care
about the state and care
about the university, you
should be on board and supportive
of everything the
university is doing.
The university is trying to
make some real significant
strides in a state that economically
still has a lot of
challenges. Morgantown may
be booming, the Eastern Panhandle
may be booming, but
southern West Virginia is
struggling and the Kanawha
Valley is struggling.
I think anyone who is detracting
from the university
and taking pot shots is not
helping the cause, they’re
just damaging the reputation
of the state. Our state’s
reputation is tough. I am
reading the Washington Post
last night and they had a
headline story about the 17-
year-old girl in Martinsburg
who beat out an incumbent
legislator, and people in
Washington are saying this
is typical West Virginia politics.
A 17-year-old girl can’t
even formally vote yet.
Listen, our state takes
hits all the time, and that’s
why it’s important that people
all get on board and
support what the university
is trying to do.
TDP: Years down the
road, how will the Big 12
move be viewed? I understand
there were no invitations
from the ACC or
SEC, and so I mean 20 or
50 years from now, how
significant was it for
WVU to get where it is,
and not to be a Connecticut
or South Florida?
OL: Just ask people if
they want to be where
Cincinnati is right now, or
South Florida, or UConn,
with multiple basketball
national championships
and two this year.
(Luck mentioned how
the TV payout for American
Athletic Conference
schools is less than $2 million
a year. WVU expects to
make $20 million-plus per
year when it begins to receive
a full share of Big 12
revenues, in 2015-’16).
You ’re not going to pay
for many facilities with
4 years of his
administration
READ PART TWO of the
Luck interview in Monday’s
newspaper.
BY DREW RUBENSTEIN
The Dominion Post
The first term of Oliver
Luck ’s tenure as WVU
athletic director has been
defined by change.
The Dick Martin-era
chairs in Luck’s secondfloor
Coliseum office may
have seen more major
changes since his arrival
than during the tenures
of Martin (1978-’81), Fred
Schaus (1981-’89) and
Ed Pastilong (1989-2010)
combined.
In nearly four years on
the job, Luck has hired
and/or promoted six people
within his top administrative
team, and hired
and/or replaced eight
head coaches (WVU has
15 varsity head coaches).
He helped orchestrate the
university ’s 2012 move
from the Big East Conference
to the Big 12, restructured
the student services
department and oversawthe process that led the
school to sign a 12-year deal
with IMG College for its
multimedia rights.
In recent months, he replaced
veteran wrestling
coach Craig Turnbull with
Sammie Henson, hired the
school ’s first men’s golf coach
in 32 years —Sean Covich —
unveiled plans for $100 million
in athletic facility improvements,
and reached a
settlement to end the tenure
of longtime deputy athletic
director Mike Parsons.
Luck said he is satisfied
with the reorganization,
and when he projects where
WVU is headed, he likes
what he sees.
“I think we’re in a great
spot,” Luck said.
“We ’re a member in one
of the five conferences that
really will receive a lot of
autonomy. We’re one of the
top-65 schools in the country
when it comes to athletic
programs. That’s
something to be said.
“We ’re receiving dollars
that are at the same levels as
most of our other peer institutions,
which is very important
because without funds
to modernize and upgrade and
build new facilities ... it’s very
difficult to compete.”
Luck said much work remains
but he’s relieved
WVU is where it is.
“Some of the old Big East
schools made it and some
didn’t,” Luck said. “I think
we ’re very fortunate to be in
the position we’re in, particularly
given the fact that
there was no invitation from
the ACC, was no invitation
from the Big Ten, was no
invitation from the SEC.
We ’re very fortunate to be in
the position we’re in.”
Luck ’s comments came
during The Dominion Post’s
first sit-down interview with
LUCK
FROM PAGE 1-C
him in more than a year.
What follows are some other
highlights of the interview.
A final segment of information
from the session will
run in Monday’s edition.
OLIVER LUCK on the
big picture for WVU athletics:
We’ve maximized the
value of a lot of our rights,
which has allowed us to receive
guaranteed contracts
from folks, which has in
turn allowed us to issue a
bond and build new facilities.
We’ve taken a lot of
our programs that struggled
with support from the
department, struggled on
the field or on the court.
Volleyball and baseball are
good examples, and we’re
trying to upgrade those so
that we can be competitive
in a competitive conference.
We don’t want any of our
teams to be a bottom-feeder.
That’s wrong for kids and
wrong for the program.
We ’ve got a lot of work to
do. We’re in a conference
with schools that are in the
top tier in the nation,
whether Texas or Oklahoma
or Baylor, which are
in very robust and wealthy
states with lots of big-money
donors and can build
brand-new stadiums simply
by raising money, which is
simply incredible. My hat’s
off to my people down there
in Texas. So we’ve got a lot
of work to continue to do,
but I think we’re in the best
spot we’ve ever been in.
We ’ve got lots of challenges,
but I think the television
payouts, our relationship
with IMG has allowed
us to go do these things. I
don’t know the last time we
spent $100 million on infrastructure
in a two- or threeyear
period. I don’t know the
last time we spent $50 million
on infrastructure in a twoor
three-year period. …The
bar has certainly been
raised, and we want to
achieve that. It takes an entire
state and an entire community
of folks to support
that because it’s very difficult
to do when we’re competing
against some of the
best in the country. We really
need everybody on
board, being supportive and
working with us. Because
folks that are detractors really
create distractions and
make it harder for us to
achieve our goal.
THE DOMINION
POST: When there have
been so many changes, issues
are going to bubble
up, so to now get everyone
united —how do you
do that?
OL: We communicate a
lot. We go on the (Mountaineer
Athletic Club) tour,
we go to Wheeling, we talk
to folks. We have our coaches
out there talking to people.
It should be, to a degree,
self-evident that as the flagship
school of the state, the
only school in the state that
is in the category of the toptier
schools, a school that
will be mixing it up with
flagship schools around the
country, it seems to me to be
self-evident that if you care
about the state and care
about the university, you
should be on board and supportive
of everything the
university is doing.
The university is trying to
make some real significant
strides in a state that economically
still has a lot of
challenges. Morgantown may
be booming, the Eastern Panhandle
may be booming, but
southern West Virginia is
struggling and the Kanawha
Valley is struggling.
I think anyone who is detracting
from the university
and taking pot shots is not
helping the cause, they’re
just damaging the reputation
of the state. Our state’s
reputation is tough. I am
reading the Washington Post
last night and they had a
headline story about the 17-
year-old girl in Martinsburg
who beat out an incumbent
legislator, and people in
Washington are saying this
is typical West Virginia politics.
A 17-year-old girl can’t
even formally vote yet.
Listen, our state takes
hits all the time, and that’s
why it’s important that people
all get on board and
support what the university
is trying to do.
TDP: Years down the
road, how will the Big 12
move be viewed? I understand
there were no invitations
from the ACC or
SEC, and so I mean 20 or
50 years from now, how
significant was it for
WVU to get where it is,
and not to be a Connecticut
or South Florida?
OL: Just ask people if
they want to be where
Cincinnati is right now, or
South Florida, or UConn,
with multiple basketball
national championships
and two this year.
(Luck mentioned how
the TV payout for American
Athletic Conference
schools is less than $2 million
a year. WVU expects to
make $20 million-plus per
year when it begins to receive
a full share of Big 12
revenues, in 2015-’16).
You ’re not going to pay
for many facilities with
