Early life and education A native of
Burlington, Iowa, Wayne Duke graduated from the
University of Iowa 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 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. ==Awards and honors==