Ted Valentine
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1958 or 1959 (age 66–67)
Ted Valentine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Theodore Valentine 1958 or 1959 (age 66–67) |
| Alma mater | Glenville State College |
| Occupation | Basketball referee |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Children | 1 daughter |
| Awards | Naismith College Official of the Year |
Theodore Valentine[1] (born circa 1959)[2] is an American college basketball referee. Over a career spanning four decades he has refereed four NCAA championships, 10 Final Fours, and 28 NCAA tournaments.[3] In 2005, he won the Naismith College Official of the Year.[4]
Valentine grew up in a high-income, gated community, just outside of Moundsville, West Virginia. He was raised by his mother, who was a worker at a Louis Marx and Company factory, making big wheel tricycles. His mother would put cardboard into her shoes over worn soles to save money.[5] He did not know his father until junior high. In the same year he met his father, he witnessed a friend die from an accidental gunshot wound to the head. Following this, he developed a stutter, for which he saw two speech therapists.[6] He attended John Marshall High School, where he played baseball for three years.[7]
He attended Glenville State College, where he majored in physical education.[8] He played first base for his college baseball team.[8] He graduated in 1980.[5] Though he did not play basketball, he was a manager on his college's basketball team.[9] He was inducted into his college's sports hall of fame in 2006, after lettering in baseball.[10] Following college, he returned to John Marshall High School, becoming a physical education and driver's education teacher, as well as a coach.[7] In 1985, he was an assistant coach for the John Marshall High School baseball team that won the West Virginia Class AAA State Championship.[10]
While Valentine has never played organized basketball, he has coached, if briefly. While in college, he was a student teacher at Weston Junior High in Weston, West Virginia. He was an assistant coach for the school's junior high girls team. The head coach had taken maternity leave, leading to Valentine being the substitute head coach for a game. He received three technicals before half time, and was ejected. On his way off the court, he passed the principal of the school who said "You just coached your last game."[8][6]
Following knee surgery, Valentine moved to Charleston, South Carolina, in 2003.[9] In addition to refereeing, Valentine also works part-time for the North Charleston Recreation Department.[5]