Mark Alesia

USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS -- The hiring of Oliver Luck, announced Wednesday, gives the NCAA a respected former athletic director during a time of upheaval in college sports and frequent attacks on the Indianapolis-based group.

That Luck is also the father of popular Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck can only help the often unpopular NCAA.

Andrew Luck joked about his father's move from athletic director at the University of West Virginia to Indianapolis.

"I've spent most of my adult life trying to get as far away from my folks as possible," he said. "But yeah, very excited.

"Obviously I love him, he's my dad. I think he's going to do great no matter what he does. But I think he's excited for it and I am excited for him to come to Indianapolis, and the family as well."

Luck will have the NCAA's No. 2 position behind president Mark Emmert. He will have the title of executive vice president, a newly created position overseeing broad aspects of what the NCAA does other than putting on championships --- establishing academic standards, determining eligibility and enforcing rules.

The NCAA's announcement said Luck will be responsible for improving efficiency and "strengthening relationships with NCAA colleges and universities."

"He brings to us wide ranging, hands-on experience from across athletic, academic, and business worlds," Emmert said in a statement. "Most important, his commitment to the success and well-being of our student-athletes is unquestionable. He has demonstrated that commitment on the ground and throughout his life. I'm anxious for him to get started with us."

In the statement, Luck said, "This is a time of fundamental change in intercollegiate athletics that will set the foundation for the years ahead. The challenges both internal and external to the NCAA present a unique opportunity to help shape the landscape for hundreds of thousands of young men and women."

The NCAA faces lawsuits that attack its concept of amateurism. It also faces a changing landscape in college sports, with the rich "Power Five" conferences, including the Big Ten, demanding the ability to provide more for their athletes.

Luck has been charged with studying those issues in the past. In 2012, he said college sports administrators had to come to grips with what will happen if former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon prevailed in his lawsuit on the use athlete likenesses. O'Bannon won the first round in the case but the NCAA is appealing.

In August, Luck told a Big 12 "State of College Sports" forum, "If we are in fact using name, image and likeness of student-athletes, they should be compensated."

Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby chaired a search committee that selected Luck for the NCAA.

"This is an excellent fit for the NCAA and for college athletics," Bowlsby said. "Oliver is smart, analytical, energetic and insightful. While this is a big loss for WVU and the Big 12, it is a tremendous hire for our national association."

Luck had been the Big 12 representative on the College Football Playoff selection committee but with the change in jobs will have to vacate that spot..

"Oliver has brought a great perspective to the selection committee, and we will miss him," Bill Hancock, executive director of the playoff committee, told USA TODAY Sports in an email. "He was a valued member whose views were wise and always thoughtful. We wish him well and know that he will be successful in his new position. We're glad he will still be in the college athletics family.

"We will name a replacement by this spring; there's no rush now, of course. It terms of process, the Big 12 conference will nominate a replacement, and the management committee will review the nomination and make the final decision."

Contributing: Dan Wolken, George Schroeder, and Zak Keefer

Mark Alesia writes for The Indy Star, a Gannett paper.