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WVU president says Luck is staying
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West Virginia President James Clements calmed legions of Mountaineer fans Thursday, saying athletic director Oliver Luck isn't going anywhere.
Luck had been rumored to be a candidate to replace Bob Bowlsby as athletic director at Stanford, but he also seems to emerge as a rumored candidate for just about every high profile job that becomes available in college football.
"Oliver's name pops up for lots of jobs. It did when the Big 12 position opened, [for] the Big East his name has been circulated, Stanford, and whatever is next," said Clements. "I talked with Oliver. Oliver's staying. He's a Mountaineer. He's happy."
Luck, who ushered the program out of the Big East and into the Big 12 in less than two years on the job, has ties to Stanford through his son, Andrew Luck, who just finished his career for the Cardinals. He will also have two daughters on campus this fall.
His accomplishments in a short time at West Virginia, along with the fact he was a Rhodes Scholar finalist and his background in sports, certainly helps fuel the idea that he is in demand elsewhere.
It's unclear if Luck spoke to Stanford officials about the job or not.
But his demand, said Clements, required a conversation between the two. "You know we have a really good relationship. I'm pretty open and honest and my view on this one was I want to build an organization where people want to come after my team," said Clements, "but I want them to be happy and have an environment here they can be successful in.
"It doesn't surprise me people are coming after Oliver. But he is here and he is happy."
The news just about upstaged the day's earlier development that West Virginia has been working on a deal to open the 2014 season against national champs Alabama. The sports information department confirmed the game was in the works, but that nothing was finalized yet.
First Published May 17, 2012 4:28 pm
