Early life and education

A native of Burlington, Iowa

Burlington, Iowa

Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,663 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in the 2000 census. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area including West Burlington, Iowa and Middletown, Iowa and...

, Wayne Duke graduated from the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

 in 1950.

Career

Duke began his career in college athletics publicity at the University of Northern Iowa

University of Northern Iowa

The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...

 and the University of Colorado

University of Colorado at Boulder

The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...

. He joined the National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 in 1952 as assistant to executive director Walter Byers

Walter Byers

Walter Byers was the first executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He served from 1951 to 1988. He also helped start the United States Basketball Writers Association in 1956...

. He was named commissioner of the Big Eight

Big Eight Conference

The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...

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

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 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, University of Iowa
  University of Iowa
  The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
  
  
• 2010: inductee, National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
  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 college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National Association of Basketball Coaches , located at the Sprint...