Oliver Luck will become the first commissioner and chief executive officer of the XFL, it was announced Tuesday.
"The XFL will be a labor of love as I get to combine my experiences as a player and executive," Luck told ESPN in an email. "I'm thrilled to have this unique opportunity to reimagine the game that has been a constant in my life for 40 years."
Luck will leave his leadership role at the NCAA, where he oversaw the organization's regulatory functions, including eligibility requirements and academic affairs, and the eligibility center.
"I always felt there was an opportunity for another pro league as long as it had the key ingredients, and I found all those ingredients present in the new XFL," Luck told ESPN's Darren Rovell on Tuesday. "There was the leadership and vision from Vince [McMahon] who is a tremendous entrepreneur with a solid track record and there is a potential to have good quality football if it is well capitalized, which of course it is."
He will relocate from Indianapolis, where his son Andrew Luck is the quarterback for the Colts, to the XFL's headquarters in Connecticut as he prepares for the league's launch in 2020.
"Oliver and I share the same vision and passion for reimagining the game of football," McMahon, the XFL's founder and chairman, said in a statement. "His experience as both an athlete and executive will ensure the long-term success of the XFL."
McMahon and NBC first launched the XFL in 2001, but it lasted just one season. Luck believes this new incarnation, announced by McMahon in January, will be built to last.
"We're focused on what we think is a solid business plan with a solid runway and a solid timeline," he told ESPN. "Our ultimate goal is to make this all work having high quality football by 2020 and that remains paramount.
"Everything is going to be different [than 2001]."
Luck previously served as the president of NFL Europe and as the chief executive officer of the Houston Sports Authority, which helped bring the Texans to Houston as an NFL expansion team in 2002.
He also played quarterback for the Houston Oilers and at West Virginia University, where he was inducted into the Mountaineers' Hall of Fame and later spent four years as athletic director. He also served on the College Football Playoff selection committee in 2014.
ESPN's Darren Rovell contributed to this report.