Wayne Duke (November 9, 1928 – March 29, 2017) was an American collegiate sports executive who served as commissioner of the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

from 1963 to 1971, then as commissioner of the Big Ten Conference from 1971 to 1989.

Biography

Early life and education

A native of

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000 United States Census, 2000. Burlington ...

, Wayne Duke graduated from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1950. He married Martha Buesch on June 11, 1950. He died on March 29, 2017.

Career

Duke began his career in college athletics publicity at the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2024 total enrollment was 9,283 students. The university was initially founded in 1 ...

and the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

. He joined the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

in 1952 as assistant to executive director

Walter Byers Walter Byers (March 13, 1922 – May 26, 2015) was an American sports executive and sportswriter. He was the first executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Early life Byers was born in Kansas City. He graduated f ...

. He was named commissioner of the Big Eight athletic conference in 1963 and served until 1971, when he was named commissioner of the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

athletic conference. He retired as the Big Ten commissioner in 1989. A Big Ten scholarship for post-graduate studies is now awarded in his name.

Awards and honors

*1990: Distinguished Alumni Award,

*2010: inductee,

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Wayne 1928 births 2017 deaths Big Eight Conference commissioners Big Ten Conference commissioners National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees University of Iowa alumni People from Burlington, Iowa