Doug Elgin, who in 30 years has brought a firm and steady hand to the Missouri Valley Conference as its commissioner, is quick to share the credit for MVC success with others within the organization.
Elgin salutes the MVC Presidents Council for taking ownership of league membership issues, and also points to the remarkable continuity within the league’s senior staff that keeps day-to-day Valley operations functioning smoothly at a high level.
Since being named the Valley’s ninth commissioner May 17, 1988, Elgin and the Valley staff have been catalysts in helping the St. Louis-based conference regain a position of prominence in college athletics.
“The MVC has always been resilient to membership change down through the years, and has been relatively stable over the past 30 years,” Elgin said. “At each stage of transition, our MVC Presidents Council has acted decisively in reviewing expansion options and extending invitations.”
And now the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin with the Class of 2018 as part of the Enshrinement presented by Killian Construction, set for Sunday, January 28. Associate sponsors are Advertising Plus, Hillyard, Inc., Hiland Dairy and White River Valley Electric Company. (For tickets, see below).
The longest-serving commissioner in the Valley’s 111-year history, Elgin’s tenure guiding the nation’s second-oldest conference has seen the Valley lose only three members and add five for the current 10-school MVC structure.
Equally notable is that his time with the Valley has seen associate commissioners Patty Viverito, Joe Mitch, Jack Watkins and Mike Kern combine to total well more than a century of service within their positions.
“Keeping our senior staff in place has given us incredible continuity, which has enabled us to host three NCAA Final Fours and 10 additional NCAA men’s basketball tournament events in St. Louis,” Elgin said. “This is important for the national profile of our conference and hugely important for its economic impact for St. Louis.”
MVC schools have been able to compete on the national stage, regularly earning multiple NCAA tournament bids in team sports, including men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and men’s soccer, plus notable NCAA success in individual sports.
“Our league enjoys strong campus leadership from presidents who have have invested in athletics facilities and programs, and top-flight athletics directors and senior women’s administrators,” Elgin emphasizes.
The league’s television exposure includes long-term coverage by CBS of the men’s basketball tournament title game with additional partnerships with FOX Sports Regional Network, NBC SportsChicago and ESPN3.
The league brought women’s sports programs under the Conference administrative umbrella in July 1992, with 2018 marking its 25th year.
The league staff also paved the way to establish St. Louis as a long-term neutral site for the men’s basketball tournament, beginning in 1991, one of the most significant developments in the modern era of The Valley. The event is now the second longest-tenured neutral site college basketball tournament in the country.
The Valley followed suit with its women’s basketball tournament, moving it in 2008 to the Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri, before relocating the championship to the Quad Cities in 2016. The Valley is one of only two leagues outside the Power Five with its women’s tournament at a neutral site.
Providing a stage for major NCAA events has been a key. In 1993, the MVC hosted the NCAA Men’s Midwest Regional at St. Louis Arena. That first step began an incredible run that has seen the Valley staff manage 11 more NCAA basketball events in St. Louis from 1998 through 2016, including the 2001 and 2009 Women’s Final Fours, the 2005 Men’s Final Four, and eight more men’s NCAA regional or first- and second-round tournaments.
Elgin completed a four-year term on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee in 2002 and is the only Valley representative ever to serve on that prestigious group. He has also served on the NCAA Administration Cabinet, and NCAA Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee. At present, he is a member of the National Invitation Tournament Committee, and the NABC’s Ad Hoc Committee on NCAA Selection, Seeding and Bracketing.
In more than 40 years in college athletics administration, Elgin also has served as sports information director at Frostburg State University, Miami-Dade Community College South, Lafayette College and the University of Virginia. In 1983, he started a five-year run for the Sun Belt Conference as assistant commissioner under Commissioner Vic Bubas, the former Duke basketball coach and College Basketball Hall of Fame member.
A native of Hagerstown, Maryland, Elgin is a 1973 graduate of Lafayette College, and earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1975. Doug and his wife, Melaine, have six daughters and seven grandchildren.
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Missouri Sports Hall of Fame’s 2018 Enshrinement Ceremonies presented by Killian Construction
When: Sunday, January 28
Morning reception: 11 a.m., presented by Meek’s The Builder’s Choice, at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive in Springfield.
Afternoon festivities: 4 p.m. reception, 5 p.m. dinner & ceremony at University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center, Springfield
Class of 2018: Mike Garrett (Kansas City Chiefs), Lee Smith (St. Louis Cardinals), Howard Richards (University of Missouri football), Jim Otis (St. Louis Football Cardinals & Kansas City Chiefs), Martin Mac Donald (Conservationist, Outdoorsman, Runner), football coach Gary Barnett (Northwestern University & University of Colorado), softball coach Holly Hesse (Missouri State University), Doug Elgin (Missouri Valley Conference Commissioner), Dr. Brian Mahaffey (Missouri State University, St. Louis Cardinals), shot putter Christian Cantwell (Eldon High School/University of Missouri/Olympics), basketball standout Kerensa Barr Cassis (West Plains High School/Mizzou), Dan Lucy (KOLR 10 TV Sports Director), Rockhurst High School football coach Tony Severino, basketball coach Steve Tappmeyer (Northwest Missouri State University, UMSL), Rick Grayson (PGA teaching professional), Learfield, the Lamar High School Football Program, Springfield-Greene County Park Board, Independent Printing – John Q. Hammons Founders Award, Rick Todd of Herschend Family Entertainment – President’s Award.
Sponsorship opportunities: Tables of 10 are $1,500 and include an autographed poster (a rendering by renowned artist Dayne Dudley), recognition in the printed program and at the table. Individual tickets are $150. Numerous other sponsorships are available, including congratulatory ads, trading cards and 20-month calendars.
Call the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame: 417-889-3100.
