Dave Butler, Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement; Bonnie Bernstein, Campus Insider; Oliver Luck, NCAA, and Jane Kleinberger, Spectra, at PACnet '17. (VT Photo)
REPORTING FROM NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. – Oliver Luck, the NCAA’s number two in charge today, likens eSports to the sanctioned college sport of rifle. Esports is a new phenomenon and the jury is out as to whether college presidents would ever allow it to be the NCAA’s 25th sanctioned sport, but as far as athleticism is concerned, it’s arguable.
That said, he also insisted content creation is so much more important today. Sports is human drama. Music is the universal language. And once the show is booked or the game is on, content is still the focus, this time by creating moments for individual fans. “I like the kiss-cam,” Luck admits.
Luck, NCAA EVP of regulatory affairs, addressed that topic, his career in sports and issues like politics and HB2’s impact on the upcoming Men’s Basketball Tournament (the first round begins March 17-18) during PACnet ’17 here. Dave Butler, president and CEO, Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement, introduced Luck after prepping the clients, users and partners on the week ahead, emphasizing that Spectra’s Paciolan Platform has a new look thanks to new integration with a variety of partners, and promising several upcoming days of revelation and celebration to the 750 in attendance.
Luck told attendees he believes it’s hard to alienate the older fan base. “It’s more important to develop young fans. There is no guarantee this generation will keep going to ballparks like we did. Stadiums are getting downsized. One of the issues for all of us is the demographics we are chasing,” Luck said.
Bonnie Bernstein, VP of content and brand development, Campus Insiders, interviewed Luck during this presentation, pressing him on the NCAA’s decision to move men’s basketball out of venues in North Carolina because of that state’s HB2 laws.
“It seems like college athletics, professional sports and the music world have been pretty united in approach and posture vis-a-vis North Carolina,” Luck said. “The other aspect of this is there are six or seven states that have prohibited nonessential state travel to the state of North Carolina. Our selection committee puts together the basketball bracket and, all of a sudden, we are facing this issue that a team from California, a state school, might not get the funding to travel to play against another school in North Carolina. That’s another aspect that is making it difficult for our committees. That’s how we seed; it’s difficult to keep the integrity of the bracket.”
But it’s a moving target. Saying it’s the NCAA’s desire to make sure all its athletes, coaches and fans are comfortable, Luck also acknowledged that politically, there are now five or six states, including Texas, considering legislation similar to what North Carolina has done.
NCAA policy decisions are made by a board of governors made up of college presidents. “We’re a democratic organization. Everybody votes,” Luck said. His only suggestion for venue managers in states affected by such laws is to “engage with your trade association, like the North Carolina Sports Commission. They’re very well aware of the effect on pro, college and even amateur sports.”
“It’s a challenge. Having said that, you look to this historically; we took a stand on the Confederate flag and on single-sport gambling. We still don’t allow championships to be held in the state of Nevada. We have somewhat of a history of decisions based on social policies,” Luck said of the NCAA.
Regarding eSports, Luck told PACnet attendees that people are voting with their feet. If there is an arena filled with 18,000 people who bought a ticket to watch esports, it’s a real business. I might find it odd, but I’m just old.”
Coordination and skill are involved. “West Virginia University has won 17 NCAA championships in one sport – rifle,” Luck said. “When you watch a rifle match, the person will stand for 15 minutes or so. It’s all about controlling your heartbeat before shooting. That’s not that much different from sitting in a chair playing a video game. I think eSports has a real future.”
The announcement that the National Basketball Association is starting an e-league intrigued Luck as well, but he hesitated to speculate on its standing with the NCAA.
“There are lots of things that are big on campus that don’t become NCAA sports, like rugby and Frisbee. It’s something we’re looking at,” he said.
Oliver Luck addressing PACnet '17. (VT Photo)
Luck’s first job in the industry was running a franchise in a new, now defunct league, the World League of American Football. His baby was the Frankfurt (Germany) Galaxy and “the only metric that mattered was attendance. The Germans had no clue about American football.”
He soon learned that attendance often depends on things unrelated to the game, Luck told the ticketing pros in attendance.
After American Football was described in the German press as short bursts of violence followed by a committee meeting, Luck knew he had to shake things up to draw fans. So he hired the best DJ he could find to be the announcer. Soon the press was calling it “Europe’s biggest open air disco.”
His next stint was with the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority while NRG Park, Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center were being built. He parlayed that into a job with AEG, which was moving the San Jose (Calif.) Earthquakes to Houston to be the town’s Major League Soccer team, the only pro sport Houston lacked at the time.
That led to his next big lesson — how to cut your losses. The decision was made to name the team Houston 1836, a page out of world soccer tradition and in honor of the year Houston was founded. Unfortunately, especially given the large number of Hispanic fans the team expected to draw, it was also the year Mexico lost Houston.
Luck’s boss at the time was Phil Anschutz, Anschutz Entertainment Group, and Anschutz called Luck to say his team thought the consternation over the name would blow over. Luck thought not. “Then change the damn name,” Anschutz said.
Flash forward, and Luck is putting all those lessons learned to work at the NCAA, overseeing sports for 46,000 student athletes. “We get more kids to college on scholarships than anything but the GI Bill,” he said. “We teach them to compete.”
The thread throughout his career is that “it’s all about people and how we treat people. Sports is human drama. That will never change,” Luck said.