Former Big Ten commissioner Duke dies

Wayne Duke, a central figure in one of the most infamous incidents of the Ohio State-Michigan football rivalry and a driving force behind the expansion of the NCAA men's basketball tournament during his 18 years as commissioner of the Big Ten, has died. He was 88.

The Big Ten announced Duke's death after his family notified the conference Wednesday. He had been living in Barrington, Illinois.

Duke became commissioner of the Big Eight Conference in 1963 at age 34 and took over as Big Ten commissioner in 1971. He retired in 1989.

The 1973 football season ended with Ohio State and Michigan tying 10-10 in Ann Arbor. Since both teams had 7-0-1 records in conference play, Duke polled conference athletic directors to see which team would play in the Rose Bowl. The vote was 6- 4 in favor of Ohio State, even though it had gone the year before. The decision left Michigan coach Bo Schembechler incensed. He accused Duke of trying to influence the vote and remained bitter for years.

“It was very simple,” Duke told Canoe.com in 2013. “I took the votes and it came out in favor of Ohio State. All of the trauma was concocted by Bo’s reaction.”

Duke also served on the NCAA men's basketball committee from 1975 to '81. He oversaw the expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams and was in charge when the at-large spots were established and seeding began.

Previously, only conference champions played in the NCAA Tournament.