OVC Commissioner Steinbrecher heads to Mid-American Conference
Current commissioner will leave league in May
Staff Report
Issue date: 3/23/09 Section: Sports
Jon A. Steinbrecher, who has served as Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner since May 2003, has accepted the job as Commissioner of the Mid-American Conference.
Steinbrecher will begin his duties with the MAC in May.
Steinbrecher, only the sixth OVC Commissioner in the 61-year history of the league, came to the OVC in 2003 after nine years at the Mid-Continent Conference (now known as the Summit League).
"It has been a tremendous honor to serve the member institutions of the Ohio Valley Conference over the past six years," Steinbrecher said in a press release. "I am very pleased with the projects we have completed over that time period and the direction that the Conference is currently headed."
"Initiatives implemented during Dr. Steinbrecher's six-year tenure as Ohio Valley Conference commissioner have the league poised for future growth while emphasizing its commitment to the overall development of the student athlete," said Melvin Johnson, Tennessee State President and current Chair of the OVC Board of Presidents. "His negotiations with ESPN and the BracketBusters event gave every team in the league additional exposure before national audiences. Dr. Steinbrecher worked to improve academic performances and graduation rates with the understanding that the young men and women that perform in arenas around the league must be prepared to live successful lives in their respective communities. I commend him for his efforts and his commitment to student success. I wish him well in future endeavors, and I hope that student athletes continue to benefit from the integrity he brings to athletic administration."
While serving as OVC Commissioner, Steinbrecher significantly increased the league's exposure through additional television coverage at the regional and national level. In 2005, he negotiated a five-year contract with ESPN that secured increased exposure for the league. That included being the first conference to sign a deal to have games appear on ESPNU, ESPN's 24-hour college sports network. The OVC had the first sporting event broadcast on that network (the 2005 OVC Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinal).
Most recently Steinbrecher headed the efforts of Nashville and the OVC in bidding for and securing the rights to host the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Final Four.
He also implemented Conference merchandising and corporate partner programs and in February 2008, negotiated a five-year agreement with IMG College to manage the OVC's multimedia rights and sponsorship sales.
In July 2006, Steinbrecher helped spearhead a venture into streaming video with the launch of OVCSports.TV. The multimedia platform, in association with JumpTV Sports, provides live and on-demand coverage of every OVC football and men's and women's basketball game as well as selected other sports, coaches' shows, press conferences and special events.
In June 2008, Steinbrecher announced the addition of Southern Illinois Edwardsville to the Conference's membership. The institution, which became an official member of the Conference on July 1, gave the Conference a geographic footprint in the St. Louis media market and gave the league 11-member institutions.
Steinbrecher has also served on several prominent NCAA committees, including the Division I Basketball Issues Committee, serving as 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).
In June 2007, he was appointed to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Academic Enhancement Group by NCAA President Myles Brand. The group was charged to develop strategies to enhance academic performance and graduation rates in Division I men's basketball. In September 2008, he began a three-year term on the NCAA Division I Legislative Council.
While serving as OVC Commissioner, Steinbrecher significantly increased the league's exposure through additional television coverage at the regional and national level. In 2005, he negotiated a five-year contract with ESPN that secured increased exposure for the league.
That included being the first conference to sign a deal to have games appear on ESPNU, ESPN's 24-hour college sports network.
The OVC had the first sporting event broadcast on that network (the 2005 OVC Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinal).
Most recently Steinbrecher headed the efforts of Nashville and the OVC in bidding for and securing the rights to host the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Final Four.
He also implemented Conference merchandising and corporate partner programs and in February 2008, negotiated a five-year agreement with IMG College to manage the OVC's multimedia rights and sponsorship sales.
-Staff report
Steinbrecher will begin his duties with the MAC in May.
Steinbrecher, only the sixth OVC Commissioner in the 61-year history of the league, came to the OVC in 2003 after nine years at the Mid-Continent Conference (now known as the Summit League).
"It has been a tremendous honor to serve the member institutions of the Ohio Valley Conference over the past six years," Steinbrecher said in a press release. "I am very pleased with the projects we have completed over that time period and the direction that the Conference is currently headed."
"Initiatives implemented during Dr. Steinbrecher's six-year tenure as Ohio Valley Conference commissioner have the league poised for future growth while emphasizing its commitment to the overall development of the student athlete," said Melvin Johnson, Tennessee State President and current Chair of the OVC Board of Presidents. "His negotiations with ESPN and the BracketBusters event gave every team in the league additional exposure before national audiences. Dr. Steinbrecher worked to improve academic performances and graduation rates with the understanding that the young men and women that perform in arenas around the league must be prepared to live successful lives in their respective communities. I commend him for his efforts and his commitment to student success. I wish him well in future endeavors, and I hope that student athletes continue to benefit from the integrity he brings to athletic administration."
While serving as OVC Commissioner, Steinbrecher significantly increased the league's exposure through additional television coverage at the regional and national level. In 2005, he negotiated a five-year contract with ESPN that secured increased exposure for the league. That included being the first conference to sign a deal to have games appear on ESPNU, ESPN's 24-hour college sports network. The OVC had the first sporting event broadcast on that network (the 2005 OVC Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinal).
Most recently Steinbrecher headed the efforts of Nashville and the OVC in bidding for and securing the rights to host the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Final Four.
He also implemented Conference merchandising and corporate partner programs and in February 2008, negotiated a five-year agreement with IMG College to manage the OVC's multimedia rights and sponsorship sales.
In July 2006, Steinbrecher helped spearhead a venture into streaming video with the launch of OVCSports.TV. The multimedia platform, in association with JumpTV Sports, provides live and on-demand coverage of every OVC football and men's and women's basketball game as well as selected other sports, coaches' shows, press conferences and special events.
In June 2008, Steinbrecher announced the addition of Southern Illinois Edwardsville to the Conference's membership. The institution, which became an official member of the Conference on July 1, gave the Conference a geographic footprint in the St. Louis media market and gave the league 11-member institutions.
Steinbrecher has also served on several prominent NCAA committees, including the Division I Basketball Issues Committee, serving as 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).
In June 2007, he was appointed to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Academic Enhancement Group by NCAA President Myles Brand. The group was charged to develop strategies to enhance academic performance and graduation rates in Division I men's basketball. In September 2008, he began a three-year term on the NCAA Division I Legislative Council.
While serving as OVC Commissioner, Steinbrecher significantly increased the league's exposure through additional television coverage at the regional and national level. In 2005, he negotiated a five-year contract with ESPN that secured increased exposure for the league.
That included being the first conference to sign a deal to have games appear on ESPNU, ESPN's 24-hour college sports network.
The OVC had the first sporting event broadcast on that network (the 2005 OVC Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinal).
Most recently Steinbrecher headed the efforts of Nashville and the OVC in bidding for and securing the rights to host the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Final Four.
He also implemented Conference merchandising and corporate partner programs and in February 2008, negotiated a five-year agreement with IMG College to manage the OVC's multimedia rights and sponsorship sales.
-Staff report
The Daily Eastern News encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The DEN also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.
Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.
Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.
If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Online Editor at DENNews.com@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment on this story