Court is in session

by

Ted Valentine

Age: 62.

Hometown: Charleston.

Claim to fame: He’s “TV Teddy,” the always-entertaining ref who officiates the biggest NCAA basketball games.

How it all began: While earning a BA in physical education from Glenville State College in West Virginia, “I took a class to learn how to be a referee and started refereeing intramurals for a little bit of money.” He went full time as a ref in the Big Ten Conference in the 1980s.

The move south: Fed up with cold winters, he moved to Charleston in 2003. “I am the only Division I basketball referee who lives here. I kind of like that.”

Off duty: “I don’t want to talk hoops all the time. I try to get away from it. I read books. I watch movies. I haven’t watched a whole college basketball game on TV in years.”

Giving back: He sometimes works youth basketball events for the North Charleston Parks and Recreation Department.

If someone buys coffee for you and everyone else in line at Starbucks one day, take a closer look at who is picking up the tab. Your benefactor might be Ted Valentine, the celebrated NCAA basketball referee known as TV Teddy.

“I always buy something for somebody behind me,” says Valentine. “I might never see them again, but I will know that I did something good for them.”

That gesture might not square with the image some people have of Valentine as the tough, sometimes-flamboyant referee who has been a familiar figure in college basketball for nearly 40 years. Fans have watched Valentine officiate hundreds of games, including more than two dozen NCAA tournaments and four NCAA championships.

“I have worked every championship in every conference on the East Coast,” says Valentine. “A lot of guys can’t say that.”

His fame skyrocketed in 1998 when he ejected the mercurial Indiana Hoosiers Coach Bobby Knight for an unprecedented three technical fouls during a game. The legendary Knight, known for his temper, stalked off the court in a rage. The moment remains one of the most oft-told tales in NCAA history.

While players and coaches invariably dispute some of Valentine’s calls, most agree that few referees work harder than TV Teddy.

“Ted Valentine is passionate about the game and about doing his job the right way,” says University of South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin. “He takes great pride in what he does. I have tremendous respect for him.”