Wayne Duke
American sports administrator
Intro | American sports administrator | |
Places | United States of America | |
is | Sports administrator | |
Work field | Sports | |
Gender |
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Birth | 9 November 1928 | |
Age | 96 years |
Wayne Duke (born November 9, 1928) is an American collegiate sports executive.
A native of Burlington, Iowa, Wayne Duke graduated from the University of Iowa in 1950. He married Martha Buesch on June 11, 1950.
Duke began his career in college athletics publicity at the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Colorado. He joined the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1952 as assistant to executive director Walter Byers. 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 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.