NFLPro WrestlingBy Kevin McGuire on

Memories of the previous incarnation of the XFL are hard to move past, but today the league made an announcement that will lend much more credibility to its football plans than ever before.

Oliver Luck, who previously held a position as an NCAA executive and was widely recognized as a voice of reason for the NCAA, has been named the XFL’s Commissioner and CEO. The announcement came with a brief video message from the new commissioner of the upcoming football league.

Luck is the father of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and a former athletics director at West Virginia. Luck also played the game, first as a quarterback for West Virginia in college and later with the NFL’s Houston Oilers. He was originally chosen to be a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee in 2013, and he took on a newly created role in the NCAA offices in 2014 as the organization began restructuring its senior staff in an effort to revamp the reputation of the NCAA. Simply put, Luck is the football guy the XFL needs in order to prove to its critics and naysayers it truly is serious about creating a legitimate football option for fans.

With Luck now moving on to the XFL, Vince McMahon and the league have a guy who truly understands the sport of football and has established his own reputation over the years as a guy who will now lend his credibility to the new league. More importantly, Luck’s view on football is what McMahon wants to capitalize on for its product.

Nobody should suggest the XFL is now ready to compete head-to-head with the NFL, but there is a reason to think this version of the XFL may be significantly improved from the former XFL product. McMahon has said from the start this new XFL will be a superior product to the one full of shenanigans he ran to the ground in 2001. Having Luck on board with a few years still to prepare for the 2020 launch can only be good for the XFL brand.

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.

View all posts by Kevin McGuire

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