West Virginia University at Parkersburg will host the first-ever Riverhawk Athletic Club Banquet featuring guest speaker WVU athletic director Oliver Luck. The fundraiser will take place Friday, July 13 at 6 p.m. in the college activities center.
Luck’s athletic and professional career has been the epitome of success, first as a record-setting quarterback for the Mountaineers from 1978-81, then as a professional quarterback for the Houston Oilers, and later as a professional sports executive.
A two-time team MVP in 1980 and 1981, Luck also received the Louis D. Meisel Award for the WVU football student-athlete with the highest grade point average. Selected in the second round of the NFL draft by the Houston Oilers, Luck spent four years with the Oilers from 1982-86.
After retiring from football, he became vice president of business development for the National Football League and later was appointed general manager of the Frankfurt Galaxy of the newly created World League of American Football. He spent the ’95 season as general manager of the Rhein Fire before being named President and CEO of NFL Europe in 1996. Luck totaled more than 10 years with the National Football League before becoming chief executive officer of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority in 2001.
In 2005, he was appointed as the first president of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamos, helping that organization to a pair of MLS Cup titles in his first two years at the helm. Luck was in the midst of securing the funding for an $80 million soccer complex to house the Dynamos when the call came to return to his alma mater.
All proceeds from the banquet will benefit WVU Parkersburg’s student athletic clubs. Since the clubs began in 2009, the college has seen an increase in student athlete grade point averages. WVU Parkersburg now has six athletic clubs, including soccer, volleyball, golf, table tennis and men’s and women’s basketball.
The Riverhawk Athletic Club Banquet will feature barbeque chicken and ribs from Boathouse BBQ in Marietta. Guests will also have the opportunity to bid on silent auction items, including a Char-Broil gas grill, a Dusty Baker-signed baseball, a night stay at Oglebay Resort, a $200 gift certificate to Rocky Boot Outlet, 2 signed NFL footballs and more.
Tickets are $75 for adults and $60 for WVU Parkersburg students (limit 1 per student) and can be purchased at the college business office or by calling 304.424.82223. Sponsorships and corporate tables are also available; call 304.424.8340.
