Ted Valentine, the longtime NCAA referee known as "TV Teddy," will not be rehired by the Big Ten after 34 seasons.
Valentine became known for his outbursts and antics while handing out technical fouls and drawing the ire of coaches across the nation. One of his most notable run-ins resulted in an epic tongue-lashing from legendary Indiana men's basketball coach Bobby Knight in 1998.
Valentine was simultaneously respected and disliked, and he became a fixture of Big Ten basketball games.
The West Virginia native will continue to work for the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Southeastern Conference, and the American Athletic Conference. But not having his contract renewed with the conference he's most associated with saddens him.
“I’ll miss the (Big Ten) coaches,” Valentine told Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune. “I’ll probably shed a tear when I see a couple of them … (Tom) Izzo because he’s a funny dude and he has called me his friend. Bo Ryan was zany and cool and I understood him. Thad Matta, Gary Williams, Clem Haskins. I had Lou Henson’s last game. Gene Keady, Dr. Tom Davis."
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