Oliver Luck has joined the Big 12 in a consulting role, a source confirmed.
The source described Luck’s role as helping the league in “assessing opportunities and navigating the landscape.” Matt Mosley of ESPN Central Texas first reported the news of Luck joining the league.
The Big 12 faces an uncertain future with Texas and Oklahoma heading to the SEC in the summer of 2025, at the latest. The remaining eight schools are united for now, although each is evaluating what’s best for its respective future.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby is considering various options for the league to pursue at this point. He met with Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff about a possible merger/scheduling alliance, but the Pac-12 is expected to form an alliance with the ACC and Big Ten in the coming days.
At a Texas Senate meeting earlier this month, Bowlsby said he had not reached out to any prospective schools about joining the conference. It’s unclear if that has changed in the weeks since.
It also must be stated that Bowlsby still has the support of the remaining eight schools, a source said, but Luck gives the league another respected voice in the college sports landscape.
Luck served as West Virginia’s athletic director from 2010-14, helping WVU land in the Big 12 in 2012. He then had a stint with the NCAA as its executive vice president for regulatory affairs from 2014-18 before serving as commissioner of the XFL from 2018 until it suspended operations during its inaugural season in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luck was reportedly a candidate to become the Pac-12’s commissioner, a job that ultimately went to Kliavkoff.
Kliavkoff has said the Pac-12 will decided whether it wants to expand in the coming weeks. If the league decides to expand, then it will begin the process of evaluating which schools make the most sense to add.
As far as TCU is concerned, its best pitch to the Pac-12 would be the importance of expanding its footprint into the talent-rich state of Texas. TCU has a strong academic reputation and athletics history, but its location is a strong selling point.
