Elizabeth (Beth) DeBauche was named Commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference on July 29, 2009 and began her duties with the league in September 2009. She had previously served as the Director of Division I at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from 2002 to 2009.

DeBauche (pronounced De-BUSH) is just the seventh full-time Commissioner in the 61-year history of the OVC. She follows Art Guepe (1963-75), Paul Dietzel (1975-76), Bob Vanatta (1976-79), Jim Delany (1979-89), Dan Beebe (1989-2003) and Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher (2003-09).

DeBauche is one of just five females to be the head of a Division I Conference in 2010-11, and one of just eight to lead a Division I Conference all-time.

During her first year with the OVC the league announced a change in format and new venue for its men's and women's basketball championships. The event will now span four days and be held at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Nashville (previously only the semifinals and finals were played in Nashville), meaning eight men's and eight women's teams will travel to Music City for the championship. The format also changed to a merit-based system where the No. 3 and 4 seeds receive a bye to the quarterfinals and the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will receive double byes to the semifinals. The league also saw postseason men's basketball success in DeBauche's first year, as Murray State topped Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Also during the year the league started an extensive strategic planning initiative.

From August 2002 through August 2009 DeBauche, along with the vice-president of Division I, was responsible for coordinating Division I initiatives through the NCAA governance structure, as well as helping to manage the Division I agenda. Her duties included developing agendas and providing leadership for the Division I Board of Directors, Presidential Advisory Group and the Leadership Council. DeBauche has overseen the entire Division I governance structure and worked directly with the Legislative Council, the six cabinets and the supporting communications and coordination committee.

She was also a liaison to governance representatives, external constituent groups and NCAA staff regarding legislative and governance activities. That role required DeBauche to have regular interaction with the Collegiate Commissioner's Association (CCA), the CCA Compliance Coordinators, the Division I-A Athletics Directors Association, the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) and the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association (FARA). DeBauche also served as a liaison to the Women's Basketball Issues Committee, the Presidential Oversight and Monitoring Group, the Men's Basketball Academic Enhancement Group, the Presidential Task Force on Commercial Activity in Intercollegiate Athletics and the Two-Year College Relations Panel.

In 2008, DeBauche was named the NACWAA Conference/Organization Administrator of the Year.

Prior to her work at the NCAA, DeBauche worked at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) from November 1996 through August 2002. As an assistant and later associate commissioner, she managed all aspects of the SEC's rules compliance program. DeBauche provided NCAA and SEC rules interpretations, developing rules education materials and programming, conducting compliance reviews and assisting member institutions with the NCAA certification program. At times during her tenure, she also served as the league's liaison to the faculty athletics representatives, the compliance coordinators, directors of academic support and Student-Athletes Advisory Committee (SAAC) as well as the sports liaison to the leagues women's golf, women's tennis and women's volleyball coaches.

From 1996 to 1998 DeBauche was the Director of the National Letter of Intent (NLI) Program for the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA). In that role she was the administrator in charge of issuing all NLI rules interpretations, creating rules education materials and providing NLI rules education presentations as well as being the primary information resource for parents, student-athletes and the media.

DeBauche got her start in collegiate athletics at Vanderbilt University where she was the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance from August 1994 to November 1996.

DeBauche received her Bachelor of Arts degree in history and government from Saint Mary's College (Ind.) in May 1983 and earned her Master's Degree in communications from Notre Dame in 1985. After completing the Concannon Program of International Law in London, England, DeBauche received her Juris Doctorate from the Notre Dame School of Law in 1988.

A member of the Illinois, Wisconsin and Georgia Bar, following law school graduation DeBauche worked as an attorney in each Green Bay, Atlanta and Marietta, as well as serving as a Judicial Clerk to P. Harris Hines, who is currently serving on the Georgia Superior Court.

DeBauche has been a member of the Notre Dame Club of Indianapolis Board of Directors, as well as a graduate of the Sports Management Institute and a participant in the Division I-A Athletic Directors Institute.