MVC Hall of Famer Fred Huff Never Imagined That Chronicling 35 Years of Historic Sports Moments Would Include His Own
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[For more than three decades, Fred Huff told the stories of the Missouri Valley Conference's great teams, their seasons, their coaches and their players--all the while probably never fully understanding the respect that Huff himself commanded in what is simply called "The Valley."
The Valley's certain love and respect for Huff was validated in a simple phone call he received in August while sitting at his desk at the Du Quoin State Fair. The longtime sports information director at Southern Illinois University--now retired--was told he will be inducted into the MVC's Hall of Fame as the recipient of the Paul Morrison Award during special ceremonies in St. Louis.
The formal announcement came Thursday.
Who is Paul Morrison? The longtime and now retired sports information director at Drake University is the gold standard in collegiate sports information. Huff's own words explain the prestige. "Of all the things that I have done and received, to stand next to Paul Morrison as a member of the MVC Hall of Fame means more to me than anything. I cannot tell you how proud and how humbled I am."
All of Du Quoin, all at Southern Illinois University, and certainly wife Ann and children Carol, Susan and Fred Huff, Jr. can be extremely proud.
The actual induction and presentation will take place during the President's Hall of Fame Brunch at Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis on Friday, March 5, that begins with an 8 a.m. breakfast and concludes with an 8:45 a.m. program. He and others like storied Benton Ranger and SIU coach Rich Herrin will also be recognized that weekend during the annual MVC Tournament.
The Morrison Award is presented to honor those individuals who have made significant contributions to their respective league-member institutions, The Valley or collegiate athletics, in general.
"The Paul Morrison Award provides the unique opportunity to recognize individuals who operate under the radar," said Commissioner Elgin, who is in his 22nd year with The Valley. "Paul Morrison - who has worked tirelessly in his role promoting and publicizing Drake University athletics as the sports information director and historian for more than 70 years - epitomizes dedicated service to both student-athletes and his local community."
"There are very few people associated with Southern Illinois athletics or the Missouri Valley Conference for that matter who do not know Fred Huff," said Jack R. Watkins, associate commissioner for marketing/television, who coordinates the MVC Hall of Fame and its selection process for the Conference. "His dedication to Saluki athletics is enormous, and we are grateful for the opportunity to recognize Fred for his many contributions to both student-athletes and to intercollegiate athletics, in general."
The league began presenting the award in 1997 when Paul Morrison was recognized as the first recipient of the award for his outstanding career contributions. The award, originally named the MVC Award of Merit, was renamed for Morrison in 2007. Since that first year, Dr. Lee Bevilacqua of Creighton (1998), Glen McCullough of Bradley (1999), John Sanders of the MVC staff (2004), Roland Banks of Wichita State (2006), Mark Stillwell of Missouri State (2008) and Jimmy Wright of Missouri State (2009) have also been honored.
A native of Du Quoin, Huff spent 35 years with the SIU athletic department as sports information director and assistant athletics director.
During his career as the Salukis' SID, he promoted some of the school's most historic sports moments, including the 1967 Walt Frazier-led NIT Championship men's basketball team and the 1983 national championship football season. In addition to promoting top-flight coaches and student-athletes, he trained some of the top collegiate and professional sports publicists in the country.
His passion for Saluki athletics culminated in his recently authored book, Saluki Sports History ... 100 Years of Facts and Highlights, chronicling the university's proud athletic history in facts, figures, highlights and photos. Huff donated the proceeds from the book to an endowment fund for a sports information graduate assistant position in Saluki athletics.
A life member of the SIU Alumni Association, he is a former national board member for the organization and has served as a spokesperson at alumni events on several occasions. He received the Alumni Achievement Award for Service in the fall of 2005.
A 2000 inductee into the Saluki Sports Hall of Fame, he and his wife Ann are perennial supporters of the Perry County Chapter of the SIU Alumni Association.
Huff not only authored the book on the complete history of sports at Southern Illinois University, but is currently authoring a complete chronicle of the great Du Quoin High School football program. While general manager of the Du Quoin State Fair he authored the pictorial history of the first 50 years of the Hambletonian harness racing classic and more recently a commemorative 80-year history of the Du Quoin State Fair. All of these writings have had huge public appeal.
He is also the longest serving member of the Elks All-Sports committee which honors DHS athletes. He has been a contributing organizer and media relations staff member for numerous NCAA and MVC tournaments and has served as media consultant to eight major collegiate tournaments in Las Vegas and Fairbanks, Alaska.
His collective love of this community was celebrated in 2003 by being named Du Quoin's Citizen of the Year, on the heels of his chairing of the city's sesquicentennial commission initiatives.
Tickets to the Presidents Hall of Fame Brunch are $40 per person. For information on how to attend the event, please contact the Missouri Valley Conference office at 314/421-0339.
Our appreciation to the MVC for its contributions to this announcement.