Oliver Luck on NFL career, Running the XFL and his Relationship with the Mannings

In The Front Row with Mike Vaccaro

Oliver Luck grew up in Cleveland playing basketball, baseball and football. After a standout career as quarterback at St. Ignatius High School, Luck attended West Virginia playing for Hall of Fame coaches Frank Cignetti Sr. and Don Nehlen. A three-year starter for the Mountaineers, Luck set several school records before the Houston Oilers drafted him 44th overall in 1982. Luck played alongside Archie Manning, Earl Campbell and Warren Moon on the Houston Astrodome’s artificial surface. After retiring and earning his law degree, Luck entered the world of professional and college sports as an executive. He spent 10 years overseas as part of the World League of American Football (later NFL Europe) before returning to Houston in various roles. In 2010, he would return to his alma mater as Athletic Director while also becoming a member of the first-ever College Football Playoff committee in 2013. After four years working for the NCAA, Luck helped restart the XFL’s second version of the league which saw success until the pandemic in 2020. Now chairman of Altius Sports Partners, Luck is taking on a new challenge helping the ASUN and WAC create a football conference. Luck tells us who the best athlete is in the family (which includes Oliver’s son, Andrew, former Colts quarterback) while also sharing memories of taking care of young Manning boys during his time in Houston.