Steinbrecher Named OVC Commissioner

By Ohio Valley Conference

March 31, 2003

Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher, commissioner of the Mid-Continent Conference since 1994, has been named the new commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The announcement was made by Dr. Kenneth Dobbins, President of Southeast Missouri State University and President of the OVC Board of Presidents.

“I know that I can speak for all of the OVC Presidents when I say that we are very fortunate to have Jon Steinbrecher as the next Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner,” said Dobbins. “He brings a wealth of experience from his years as the commissioner of the Mid-Continent Conference and his committee work within the NCAA. Coming from a Midwestern conference, he is very familiar with the OVC and our emphasis on student-athlete scholarship and sportsmanship.”

Dr. Steinbrecher fills a post formerly held by Dan Beebe, who left to become the Senior Associate Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of the Big 12 Conference. Beebe served as OVC Commissioner from 1989-2003.

“It is a tremendous honor to have been selected to the position of commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference,” said Dr. Steinbrecher. “I have a great deal of respect for the traditions and rivalries that have been established by the member institutions. The Ohio Valley Conference has a long and proud history as the eighth-oldest Division I conference in the country. I am excited to have the chance to join this community of institutions and work with them in addressing the opportunities and challenges that confront intercollegiate athletics and higher education.”

The new Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner brings a wide range of experience in collegiate athletics and an impressive list of accomplishments while leading the Mid-Continent Conference.

During his nine-year tenure in the Mid-Con, Dr. Steinbrecher helped take the league to new heights, overseeing the addition of five new members and four women’s championship sports. He also improved the conference’s basketball image, combining the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and securing multiyear agreements to host the event at some of the top arenas in the Midwest.

Dr. Steinbrecher also increased the Mid-Con’s exposure by securing a long-term deal with Fox Sports Net to air several of the league’s men’s and women’s basketball contests. Under his leadership, the conference also established the Building Learning arOund Creative Kids (B.L.O.C.K.) program, which provided opportunities for interaction between Mid-Con basketball programs and elementary school children.

In addition to his work at the Mid-Con, Dr. Steinbrecher has served on several prominent NCAA committees, including the Division I Basketball Issues Committee. He has been a member of subcommittees for both men’s and women’s basketball, and in 1999 he became the first non-Division I-A commissioner elected as president of the Collegiate Commissioner’s Association (CCA). Dr. Steinbrecher has also served as Division I-AAA vice president of the CCA and as a member of the National Invitation Tournament’s District IV Advisory Board. He currently serves on the NCAA’s Division I Regulatory Culture Working Group.

Prior to being named Mid-Continent Conference Commissioner in November 1994, Dr. Steinbrecher had previously served the league as Director of Communications, Director of Marketing and Communications and Assistant Commissioner. He joined the Mid-Con staff in 1989 after previously serving in the athletic departments at Houston Baptist University, Indiana University and Davidson College.

Dr. Steinbrecher is a 1983 graduate of Valparaiso University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in physical education and journalism. He graduated with a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1984, and he was awarded the doctorate of physical education in sports administration from Indiana University in 1989.

An all-conference selection in football and a conference champion in tennis, Dr. Steinbrecher was named Valparaiso’s and the Heartland Collegiate Conference’s Student-Athlete of the Year in 1983.

Dr. Steinbrecher and his wife Anne have three children; daughter Grace and twin sons Matt and Will. He will begin his duties with the Ohio Valley Conference on May 5, 2003.