Wayne Duke, who drove expansion of men’s NCAA tourney, dies at 88

Phoenix — Wayne Duke, who was 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 on Wednesday. He had been living in Barrington, Ill., and had been in declining health, his widow, Martha, told The Associated Press.

After serving for 11 years as assistant to Walter Byers, the first executive director of the NCAA, Duke became commissioner of the Big Eight conference in 1963 at the age of 34. He took over as Big Ten commissioner in 1971 and retired in 1989. Duke guided the Big Ten and college sports through the first stages of great growth in revenue from television coverage of football and basketball.

“Wayne was a giant in the world of college athletics administration during times of great change,” said Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, who replaced Duke at the conference. “He was a champion of the student, and was responsible for many of the academic, athletic and social initiatives that our students today benefit from. His mantra was ‘performance commands respect,’ and his performance and dedication throughout his college athletics career earned him the respect of countless administrators, coaches, media and fans across the country.”

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