Luck talks allegations, future of Coal Bowl;New athletic director surprised NCAA is OK with some

Published Oct. 20, 2010 10:03 p.m. ET

foxsports

Luckily, there was much more give-and-take with new WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck on the school and Big East future than presented in this space 24 hours ago.

Lucky for me - it's another compelling column to write - and you, because Luck is a big-picture guy who dives into details like he's trying one of those old Mountaineer quarterback sneaks on third-and-1.

Besides, he might delve into some of the same subjects this morning when he speaks to the Vandalia Rotary Club at Charleston's Christ Church United Methodist.

For instance, one urgent matter that landed on Luck's desk only a month after he succeeded 21-year AD Ed Pastilong was a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA, accusing WVU football of five major violations and one secondary infraction.

Luck has spoken little publicly on the matter, so I asked him last week in his WVU Coliseum office about the allegations that will be considered by the NCAA Committee on Infractions in February.

"We're compiling data, putting our defense together so to speak," Luck said. "That's going well. Beyond that, I can't really say much of anything. The facts in the case, I think, are pretty clear, and we have excellent legal counsel and they're driving the preparation of all of the documents.

"People have been very cooperative, whether they're our (WVU staff) people or others who are no longer working here.

"It's been time-consuming yes, and it's very important and we take it very seriously. But it hasn't slowed things down (for Luck). I've just put in some longer hours than I may have liked."

So, as WVU tries to position itself as sturdy as possible for any next round of conference realignment, does being in the NCAA crosshairs cause damage?

"I don't think so, to be honest, only because in the last year or so there has been a lot of that, with the agents issue," Luck said. "Fortunately we haven't had any of that here, but we try to keep our finger on the pulse.

"The short answer is it certainly doesn't help, but I don't think it hurts very much. It's hard to look anymore and find a school that hasn't had a scrape with the NCAA."

If anything, the NCAA probe and discomfort has been a lesson learned at WVU for Luck and others ... and it's not all bad, the new AD said.

"The most surprising thing I've learned about intercollegiate athletics and the NCAA," Luck said, "is that the NCAA expects an institution like ours, a Division I football school, BCS conference school, automatic qualifier I guess is the proper term ... the NCAA expects 15, 20, 25 self-reported violations a year.

"That's an indication that you're a healthy program, because it means you're actively talking to your coaches, discovering things, and it's almost impossible for a coach not to violate some of those many secondary rules (in the NCAA Manual).

"I was surprised by that, but it's an indication to the NCAA that you have an active compliance staff, that the administration, school president, the athletic director is encouraging compliance, that you're talking to coaches because that's how you uncover that maybe a coach sent a text message to a prospect on the wrong day.

"That was really surprising to me, but when you think about it, most schools, like ours, report secondary violations, and there's no damage to the school's credibility or reputation because that's actually a sign of health in a topsy-turvy sort of Alice-in-Wonderland world."

When you're in this seat, you don't pass up an opportunity to ask the athletic director at both schools about the tenor of talks and potential for the continuation of the WVU-Marshall football series beyond the seven-year contract's games at Mountaineer Field in 2011 and 2012.

Luck said the state's two major programs will continue to play, but what form the series will take remains up in the air.

"There is value in us playing Marshall and it is a series that will continue," Luck said, "and that's probably about all I'm going to tell you, because I told (Marshall AD) Mike Hamrick that I wouldn't (negotiate in the media). I do see value in playing Marshall."

Luck admitted the Sept. 10 game in Huntington, won by WVU in overtime, was an eye-opening experience for him.

"I tell you what, it was very impressive, an impressive atmosphere, an excellent ballgame," the West Virginia AD said. "It was the only game that Friday night and my son (Stanford star QB Andrew Luck) said he came back from team meeting and he and all of his friends watched the game. So, it got a lot of attention.

"The TV ratings (2.55 on ESPN) were good, and that's good for sponsor, the Friends of Coal, good for both schools, good for the state. I do think there's some value in us playing. I was very impressed with game day atmosphere, for that one day, at the beginning of season, it was the sort of hotspot in college football.

"Beyond that on Marshall, I'm just not going to comment."

The guy may be a new AD, but he's no rookie.

Contact Sports Editor Jack Bogaczyk at jackb@dailymail.com or 304-348-7949.