The inaugural XFL season is set to kick off this weekend with two games each on Saturday and Sunday. The eight teams in the league will play a 10-week regular season and a two-week postseason consisting of two semifinal playoff games and a championship game on April 26.
Three men with NFF ties are part of the XFL, and it starts at the top with the league's CEO and Commissioner,
Oliver Luck. Luck, the former West Virginia quarterback, was honored as an NFF National Scholar-Athlete in 1981. A two-time First Team Academic All-American, he finished his WVU career with multiple school records After an NFL career, his athletic administrator roles have included stints as President of NFL Europe, President & GM of the Houston Dynamo, Athletics Director at West Virginia and Executive Vice President for Regulatory Affairs at the NCAA.
Another former NFF National Scholar-Athlete,
Aaron Murray, will be the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Vipers. Murray, who was honored by the NFF in 2013 while at Georgia, is the SEC's all-time leading passer and had a brief stint in the NFL. He is also an analyst on CBS Sports Network during the college football season.
College Football Hall of Fame quarterback
Chuck Long (Iowa) is serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the St. Louis BattleHawks. At Iowa, he was a consensus First Team All-American, took home the Davey O'Brien and Maxwell awards and was the runner-up to
Bo Jackson for the 1985 Heisman Trophy. After an NFL career with the Lions and Rams, Long joined the coaching ranks with stops at Iowa and Oklahoma before becoming the head coach at San Diego State from 2006-08. He also coached at Kansas and has served as a college football analyst on the Big Ten Network.
From the XFL: "We're evolving things just a bit. Less stall, more ball is how we describe it: a fast-paced game with fewer play stoppages. We've made timing changes, common sense rules changes, and created five gameplay innovations that will raise the excitement level and minimize the downtime."
