SPRINGDALE, Ohio — Steve Shuck loved high school sports.
As the Greater Miami Conference commissioner for 26 consecutive years, Shuck was described as the “heart and soul of the GMC” for decades.
It’s why it wasn’t uncommon for him to stay up until 3 a.m. during Week 10 of the football season, working on his popular playoff projections.
Shuck, a longtime ambassador for high school sports, died Thursday morning. He was 90 years old. Shuck was diagnosed years ago with myelofibrosis, a rare blood cancer.
“As a gentleman, he never spoke ill of anyone — a Marine officer that carried himself with sincere dignity,” said GMC commissioner Stu Eversole, who had known Shuck for at least 40 years.
A former Princeton High School assistant athletic director, coach and physical education teacher, Shuck had 56-plus years of service in the GMC, which started in 1966.
Shuck, a 59-year resident of Springdale, Ohio, announced his retirement in May 2022 but continued in an oversight role of the conference junior high schools.
“A true legend isn’t measured by fame, but by the lives they touch,” said Lakota West athletic director Scott Kaufman, who is retiring from education at the conclusion of the school year and will join the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
“Steve set a standard and knew success would come from being committed to that standard. It is that standard that has guided me ever since and made me want to pay it forward. His life was dedicated to making everyone around him better, and the world is a better place because of what Steve Shuck brought into it and what he passed on to so many. I’ll miss my friend and I will always be grateful God brought him into my life.”
With an uncanny attention to detail, superb organizational skills and vision, Shuck solidified the GMC as one of Ohio’s strongest and most balanced conferences.
"Steve Shuck is all about serving others," Mason football coach Brian Castner said. "His name will be echoed forever. The time and body of work he put in for the GMC will never be matched again. We will all miss him."
Shuck, inducted into the Princeton Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006, oversaw the expansion of the GMC from six schools to its current 10 members. In addition to numerous individual and state championships, Shuck oversaw the addition of six varsity sports, including boys volleyball, girls golf, boys and girls bowling and boys and girls lacrosse.
“I will miss him. In fact, I had just emailed him last Friday with winter GMC Seasonal Successes — something he started years ago," Eversole said. "I told him it was his legacy that I was continuing.”
Shuck assigned officials, scheduled games and events, evaluated athletics facilities, distributed awards, worked on the calendar and answered phone calls and emails to troubleshoot solutions across the conference.
He was also known in Southwest Ohio for his popular high school playoff projections, also known as "Shuck's Projections," a publication he started in 1996 and managed for 25 years.
Through the decades, Shuck was known for his affable personality and his love of family.
An avid follower of University of Kentucky athletics, Shuck graduated from UK in 1957 with an AB (Artium Baccalaureatus) in Education. He earned a Master of Arts (MA) in Secondary Education in 1963. He served as an officer into the Marine Corps until 1960.
He enjoyed sharing stories of the late Kentucky coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant (football) and Adolph Rupp (men’s basketball).
Shuck's first teaching and coaching position was at Grant County High School. He was hired at Princeton in 1966.
He was the first athletic director at Princeton Junior High School, according to his family. He oversaw the expansion of the athletic facilities at the junior high school, including a gym with seating and a practice track.
Shuck also served as the color commentator for the Princeton football games for the Princeton Instructional Television network. Princeton's Academic Athletic Award was named after Shuck, too.
By the time he retired from Princeton in 1996, Princeton Junior High School fielded teams in 11 sports — some with multiple teams.
Shuck enjoyed sports and the relationships that were cultivated.
“There was never a question that he had the conference and our student-athletes’ best interests at heart,” Eversole said.
Those who were close to him said Shuck never veered away from caring about the GMC and the administrators who led the conference.
“Even upon his retirement, I would include him in our monthly AD minutes reports,” Eversole said. “He studied those with great interest. Upon his retirement, I would call him every six weeks or so just to catch up and discuss GMC business. He was still sharp as a tack and would catch the nuances of conversations.”
Shuck served on the Springdale Recreation Commission as a member for 14 years. He was also an Elder at Springdale Presbyterian Church for six years.
Shuck is survived by his wife, Lorie (married in August 1991), six children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
