Oliver Luck isn't just the father of Andrew Luck. He's the new second-in-command at the NCAA. And if he has his way, college players can look forward to a big payday in the near future.
The former West Virginia athletic director said last week that the reforms the NCAA has been fighting for years are exactly the changes he would like to see take place.
While Oliver Luck has made it clear his opinions weren't specifically addressed when he interviewed for his current position, he assumes the NCAA was well aware of his perspective. The executive has been very open in the past about the need to pay college athletes for some of the revenues they generate at schools.
"It"s more of a fundamental right," Luck said, according to The Wall Street Journal. "I'm looking forward to having a longer dialogue on this with (NCAA president Mark Emmert)."
But as far as action goes, the NCAA may wait to see how pending litigation plays out. Luck indicated that the issue may reach a federal court or the Supreme Court, in which case the decision-making process would be out of the NCAA's hands -- the organization would be told the minimum parameters it must abide by.
Already, the NCAA's ban on paying college athletes for use of their likenesses was ruled a violation of antitrust law by a federal judge. That opened the gates to increasing income opportunities for college students, and Luck was a supporter of that decision.
From the sounds of it, though, that's just the start of the changes that will be coming to the NCAA. It's just a matter of whether Luck helps drive the change, or whether the courts force it.
