If you’re even a casual fan of college basketball, there’s a very good chance you’ve seen Susquehannock’s Duke Edsall as a key “player” in some of that sport’s biggest games over the past quarter century. As an NCAA Division I referee, he has been associated with the ACC, CAA, Big South, Big 12, Southern, SEC, Atlantic 10, MEAC, CAA and C-USA conferences. He has had the honor or working in over 20 NCAA tournaments, eight regional tournaments, one NCAA Final Four, and four NIT championships.

He loves his work but acknowledges that he stumbled into it by accident – literally. It goes back to his first year at York College, where he expected to play basketball after his SHS graduation in 1974. To get in shape for his freshman season – a season that was not to be – he ran pass patterns in the evening for his younger brother Randy, still in high school and then the Warrior’s quarterback. On one fateful evening, Duke’s post-route was a little too close to the post and he collided with it at full-speed, seriously injuring his knee. During his recuperation, he was asked to referee some York County youth league games. From there he went on to Junior High, Junior Varsity, and eventually Varsity High school games. All this while a college student, having given up playing for a life in the zebra-shirt. In 1981 he was selected to officiate the York County Championship, the youngest ever to achieve that honor. His aptitude for the craft was noticed by collegiate officiating scouts, and he was given the opportunity to referee in the ACC at the astonishingly early age of 24. And from there he embarked on what is a major part of his life’s work. For his career accomplishments, Duke was elected to the York County Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

While his career path was chosen by accident, his connection with sports seems pre-ordained. He was a standout athlete at Susquehannock in the early seventies, lettering in basketball, golf, and baseball. He was a member of a divisional championship baseball squad and led the golf team to a county championship in 1974. And Duke played on the second basketball team in school history to qualify for Districts.

He admits that the high school classroom was not an area where he starred, but he made up for it at York College, consistently earning Dean’s List recognition. When he graduated with a bachelor’s degree and honors in 1978 – first in the class of finance majors – his former guidance counselor, Sid Earhart called it a “miracle of modern academics.” But Duke credits the drilled work ethic and self discipline from Susquehannock’s athletic program and his parents, Richard and Barbara, for this eventual success with the books. “It finally sunk in,” he says.

His credentials earned him a starting position at Commonwealth Bank and successive career advancements with the likes of Citicorp and Mid-West Financial. Accompanying these promotions was a succession of relocations across the United States. But he couldn’t shake his passion for refereeing basketball, and continued to do so in the evenings and weekends, gaining additional exposure and adding to his already impressive credentials.

But after 14 years, he realized his calling was not to be behind a desk and he took a job with Hensley Racing as a team manager on the NASCAR circuit. He even led A.J. Foyt’s crew in the first Brickyard 400, experiencing what he calls “the greatest 20 seconds of my life,” a reference to the time allocated for changing tires and filling a gas tank during a NASCAR race. But, after four years, basketball officiating eventually emerged as his primary career path.

Known for his colorful style on (and off) the court, Duke now ranks among the most popular figures in his field, nationally recognized for his fairness, knowledge of the game, and the ability to control contentious situations. He travels full-time during basketball season, refereeing games in multiple Division I conferences.

But the off-season is no time to relax for an overachiever. He is also employed by the Roanoke County Virginia Public Schools where has worked for the past ten years assisting with the education of special needs children.

If there is one stabilizing influence in his flamboyant life, the center of his exciting universe, it is his devotion to his wife Jody, a York Suburban graduate (we forgive him) to whom he has been married for 22 years. His “home court” is in Roanoke where he and Jody are parents to two beautiful daughters, Kacy (15) and Kali (13).

Thanks Duke Edsall ’74 for making us Warrior Proud.