University of Missouri Athletics

Poppe was a standout safety for Dan Devine who went on to serve as a coach and athletic administrator at MU, and later enjoyed a distinguished career with the NCAA. He was a first-team all-Big Eight Conference selection as a senior defensive back in 1969, when he led the Tigers with six interceptions on MU’s conference championship team. Mizzou went 9-2 that season and reached the Orange Bowl, while finishing ranked sixth nationally. He missed two games in the middle of his junior season (1968) with a broken arm, but returned for the final stretch, and closed the season by returning an interception 47 yards for a touchdown against Alabama in Mizzou’s 35-10 domination of the Crimson Tide in the 1968 Gator Bowl – a game in which ‘Bama Coach Bear Bryant said it was the biggest whipping one of his teams had ever taken. Poppe was an academic all-Big Eight selection in 1969 who went on to serve as a graduate assistant coach, and later an assistant athletic director at Mizzou. He moved on to the NCAA national office in 1975, where he served in prominent roles during a storied 39-year career from 1975-2014. He earned a myriad of honors and awards during his time with the NCAA and was perhaps most well-known for his efforts with college baseball. He was the primary liaison to the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee, while serving as the tournament director for the College World Series for 26 years and was largely considered responsible for the tremendous growth of the CWS in Omaha, Nebraska. He retired from the NCAA as the vice president for championships and alliances, and his duties included the conduct of various championships, primarily football and baseball, as well as the coordination of playing rules with the respective sport rules committees. He also served as staff liaison with the coaches associations, served on the President’s Cabinet, worked with postseason football bowl licensing, and also monitored and coordinated legislative issues. Upon his retirement he founded Poppe Sports Management, and continues to serve as a consultant to the NCAA and the American Football Coaches Association.