Post by elp525 on Jun 12, 2010 22:06:38 GMT -5
June 12, 2010
By Dave Hickman
Staff writer
MORGANTOWN - One bright spring day last week, Ed Pastilong was at a youth baseball field just a short walk from the WVU Coliseum, pitching batting practice to one of his grandsons.
For a 66-year-old, he wasn't all that bad.
"Yeah, but my four grandsons have adjusted to my curveball,'' Pastilong said. "I've got to get a slider or something to keep them honest. I need an out pitch.''
He should have some time on his hands to do that now that West Virginia University has named his replacement. Oliver Luck was hired Thursday as the school's new athletic director, allowing Pastilong to meet his June 30 retirement date.
"I'm pleased with the choice,'' Pastilong said. "Oliver is very capable. And he's just an all-round good guy.''
Pastilong won't have a ton of free time, mind you. He will stay involved with the athletic department for two more years as the athletic director emeritus. And he figures to be fairly busy in that role at least for a while because Luck, although he officially takes over in just a few weeks, said Thursday his first six months on the job will be a transition period during which he will also continue his duties as president of Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo.
"Until he walks in and sits down in this seat and takes over, I'll work with him and [WVU] President [James] Clements and do whatever they need me to do,'' Pastilong said. "But once he gets in here and takes control, I'm going to get out of his way.''
The hiring of Luck means WVU will continue to have an ex-Mountaineer quarterback in the athletic director's chair. Pastilong was a quarterback for the team in the mid-1960s. He was also an assistant on Frank Cignetti's coaching staff in the late 1970s when Luck was recruited to play at WVU.
"I can't help but reflect back to when I was the recruiting coordinator and Gary Stevens and I went up to St. Ignatius High School and brought Oliver in,'' Pastilong said. "That worked out pretty well, didn't it?''
Indeed, Luck became much more accomplished as a quarterback than was Pastilong, but that wasn't his only job at West Virginia. Pastilong pointed out, in fact, that this will be the second time Luck has been on the athletic department's payroll.
"The first or second year here, Oliver was looking for a part-time job. At the time one of my responsibilities was looking after some of the facilities,'' Pastilong said. "Well, we were having problems keeping people off of Hawley Field. We'd get it ready for a game and come back the next day and find that people had been walking dogs or hitting golf shots or whatever on the field.
"So I hired Oliver to watch Hawley Field. I reminded him when we talked that this isn't his first job at WVU. It's his second.''
Pastilong, who had volunteered to stay in the job beyond this year if that's what the university wanted, said Luck's hiring makes it easier to retire and that he has come to grips with it.
"Yes, I've come to that point. And one of the reasons is the selection [of Luck],'' Pastilong said. "Having a great deal of affinity for this university after having spent 35 years working here, you have a great deal of interest in the success of the school and the department. And with Oliver I feel good about that.''
By Dave Hickman
Staff writer
MORGANTOWN - One bright spring day last week, Ed Pastilong was at a youth baseball field just a short walk from the WVU Coliseum, pitching batting practice to one of his grandsons.
For a 66-year-old, he wasn't all that bad.
"Yeah, but my four grandsons have adjusted to my curveball,'' Pastilong said. "I've got to get a slider or something to keep them honest. I need an out pitch.''
He should have some time on his hands to do that now that West Virginia University has named his replacement. Oliver Luck was hired Thursday as the school's new athletic director, allowing Pastilong to meet his June 30 retirement date.
"I'm pleased with the choice,'' Pastilong said. "Oliver is very capable. And he's just an all-round good guy.''
Pastilong won't have a ton of free time, mind you. He will stay involved with the athletic department for two more years as the athletic director emeritus. And he figures to be fairly busy in that role at least for a while because Luck, although he officially takes over in just a few weeks, said Thursday his first six months on the job will be a transition period during which he will also continue his duties as president of Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo.
"Until he walks in and sits down in this seat and takes over, I'll work with him and [WVU] President [James] Clements and do whatever they need me to do,'' Pastilong said. "But once he gets in here and takes control, I'm going to get out of his way.''
The hiring of Luck means WVU will continue to have an ex-Mountaineer quarterback in the athletic director's chair. Pastilong was a quarterback for the team in the mid-1960s. He was also an assistant on Frank Cignetti's coaching staff in the late 1970s when Luck was recruited to play at WVU.
"I can't help but reflect back to when I was the recruiting coordinator and Gary Stevens and I went up to St. Ignatius High School and brought Oliver in,'' Pastilong said. "That worked out pretty well, didn't it?''
Indeed, Luck became much more accomplished as a quarterback than was Pastilong, but that wasn't his only job at West Virginia. Pastilong pointed out, in fact, that this will be the second time Luck has been on the athletic department's payroll.
"The first or second year here, Oliver was looking for a part-time job. At the time one of my responsibilities was looking after some of the facilities,'' Pastilong said. "Well, we were having problems keeping people off of Hawley Field. We'd get it ready for a game and come back the next day and find that people had been walking dogs or hitting golf shots or whatever on the field.
"So I hired Oliver to watch Hawley Field. I reminded him when we talked that this isn't his first job at WVU. It's his second.''
Pastilong, who had volunteered to stay in the job beyond this year if that's what the university wanted, said Luck's hiring makes it easier to retire and that he has come to grips with it.
"Yes, I've come to that point. And one of the reasons is the selection [of Luck],'' Pastilong said. "Having a great deal of affinity for this university after having spent 35 years working here, you have a great deal of interest in the success of the school and the department. And with Oliver I feel good about that.''
