Over the course of the 35 years the Great Lakes Valley Conference has been in existence, five individuals have guided the NCAA Division II league through its creation of six charter members to its multiple expansions west, reaching a conference-high 17 full-time members in 2012. Today, the 16-member union touches five states in the region and has experienced national championship success in sports other than men’s basketball.
GLVC Commissioner Jim Naumovich and his current staff
were highlighted in a previous 35|35 feature, as Naumovich is the longest tenured league leader in conference history. Prior to his 14-year run, only one other individual held a term of more than five years. In fact, Naumovich is just the second full-time commissioner in conference history, as the league did not fully employ the position until Carl McAloose was hired in 1996.
When the GLVC was formed in 1978, it was meant to be a national powerhouse in men’s basketball. And while it was – and still is – little did its founders know how much the conference would be at the forefront of diversity and inclusion.
Louis Stout was named the first GLVC Commissioner in 1978 and is believe to be the first African-American conference commissioner in NCAA Division II outside the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In addition to the milestone hire (in many ways), Nanette Schuhmann was asked by Stout to serve as the league’s first sports information director, putting a female and an African-American in the lead roles of promoting the conference, which was five years before women’s athletics was formally recognized and sponsored by the NCAA. During his time in the league, Stout was lauded for admitting the first non-charter member in Lewis University in 1981, while also establishing the rules and regulations for both coaches and officials to follow.
Following Stout’s resignation in 1983, GLVC “Founding Father” Richard F. Scharf of Saint Joseph’s College was appointed GLVC Commissioner. Scharf held the position for eight years and oversaw the increase in league membership from seven to 10 institutions, while enhancing GLVC Championship competition and securing the first NCAA automatic qualifying bids for GLVC women’s sports.
In 1991, Kenneth Lindsey was appointed the GLVC’s third Commissioner after the retirement of Scharf that summer. A former associate athletics director at the University of Louisville, Lindsey led the league through its first westward expansion with the addition of Quincy, SIU Edwardsville and UW-Parkside in 1994 and Missouri-St. Louis in 1995.
Lindsey would hold the position until 1996 when McAloose was hired as the fourth overall, yet first full-time Commissioner in the league’s history. McAloose was instrumental in moving the annual GLVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments to a neutral site -- Roberts Stadium -- in Evansville, Ind. He also put forth a charge for the league to establish an official website that would promote the GLVC and its 12 members at that time. McAloose left the conference in 2000 to become the athletics director at NCAA Division II Florida Gulf Coast University, paving the way for Naumovich, the longtime Quincy University athletics director, to take the reins of the league.
Below are brief summaries of the impact each of the five GLVC Commissioners have had in conference’s history.
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Commissioner Louis Stout (1978-83)
Louis Stout became the first Commissioner of the GLVC in 1978 and is believed to be the first African-American conference commissioner in NCAA Division II.
A former assistant commissioner at the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, Stout was charged with developing a strong conference by implementing rules and regulations for both coaches and officials.
In addition, he oversaw the addition of Lewis University as the conference’s seventh member.
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Commissioner Richard Scharf (1983-91)
Richard Scharf assumed the role of Commissioner on March 17, 1983 following the resignation of Louis Stout.
A “Founding Father” of the GLVC, Scharf served 42 years in a variety of roles at Saint Joseph’s College, including Athletics Director from 1961-82.
As GLVC Commissioner, Scharf led the conference from seven to 10 members, oversaw the expansion of GLVC Championship competition, and secured the first NCAA automatic qualifying bids for GLVC women’s sports.
Prior to the 1990-91 season, the Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award was established annually honor the GLVC’s Male and Female Athlete of the Year. |
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Commissioner Ken Lindsey (1991-96)
Kenneth Lindsey was appointed the GLVC’s third Commissioner after the retirement of Richard Scharf in July of 1991.
A former associate athletics director at the University of Louisville, Lindsey led the league through its first westward expansion, with the addition of Quincy, SIU Edwardsville and UW-Parkside in 1994 and Missouri-St. Louis in 1995. |
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Commissioner Carl McAloose (1996-2000)
Carl McAloose became the fourth -- and first full-time -- Commissioner in GLVC history in 1996.
McAloose was instrumental in moving the annual GLVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments to a neutral site -- Roberts Stadium -- in Evansville, Ind.
McAloose also put forth a charge for the Conference to establish an official website that would promote the GLVC and its 12 members at that time. |
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Commissioner Jim Naumovich (2000-Present)
Jim Naumovich is in his 14th year as the GLVC’s fifth Commissioner of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. He is the second full-time Commissioner in the league’s 35-year history, and is responsible for the conference’s 20 sports, 19 championship events, budgeting, promotions, and league administration. Previously the Athletics Director at Quincy from 1992-2000, Naumovich holds the distinguished honor of having served the league as commissioner longer than any of his predecessors.
During his tenure, the league expanded from 12 to 17 members, with the addition of Drury, Rockhurst, Missouri S&T, Maryville, Illinois Springfield, William Jewell, McKendree and Truman State. The league has grown to become the second-largest conference in NCAA Division II at 16 members and 20 sports.
Under his watch, football became the conference’s 18th sponsored sport in 2012, while men’s and women’s swimming and diving was incorporated into the GLVC for the 2013-14 season as the league’s 19th and 20th sports, respectively.
In addition, he has expanded staffing in the conference office with the hiring of three full-time staff positions and a full-time internship. He has secured grant funding to host various youth clinics at GLVC men’s tennis, basketball, and softball championships, completed a five-year strategic plan, and moved the GLVC Basketball (Evansville, Ind.), Softball (Peoria, Ill.), and Baseball (Evansville, Ind.), Championships to neutral sites. He has also been an active member on several NCAA committees during his tenure. |