The Ohio Valley Conference named Beth DeBauche, the NCAA’s director of Division I since 2002, as commissioner. She will begin her duties in mid-September.

DeBauche is the seventh full-time commissioner in league history, replacing Jon Steinbrecher, who left for the Mid-American Conference in May. DeBauche will be one of five women to head Division I conferences this year (Bernadette McGlade, Atlantic 10; Robin Harris, Ivy League; Patty Viverito, Missouri Valley Football Conference; Carolyn Schlie Femovich, Patriot League).

“I am both humbled and delighted to have been selected by the presidents as the commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference, given its history of academic and athletics excellence,” said DeBauche. “I am excited to have the opportunity to serve the presidents, administrators, faculty and student-athletes of the OVC and I am looking forward to a bright future for the conference.”

DeBauche joined the national office staff in August 2002. Her responsibilities included coordinating Division I initiatives through the NCAA governance structure and providing guidance to the Board of Directors, the Division I Presidential Advisory Group and the Division I Leadership Council. She played a key role in the recent reorganization of the governance structure, leading efforts to keep the communication among different governance bodies open and frequent.

DeBauche worked with outside constituencies, including the Collegiate Commissioners Association, the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators and the two-year college community. In 2008, NACWAA named DeBauche the Conference/Organization Administrator of the Year.

DeBauche also spent time at the Southeastern Conference office, managing compliance and certification issues. Before her stint with the SEC, she was the director of the National Letter of Intent program for the Collegiate Commissioners Association. She began her athletics career at Vanderbilt in 1994. She holds degrees from Saint Mary’s (Indiana) and Notre Dame. She earned her juris doctorate from the Notre Dame School of Law and worked as an attorney in several states.