“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.”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.”excerpt from:
MVC Hall of Famer Fred Huff never imagined that chronicling 35 years of historic sports moments would include his own, by John H. Croessman, the
Du Quoin Evening Call See also:
Fred Huff named 2010 Paul Morrison Award winner, by Jack Watkins, www.mvcsports.com
Huff held major role in Valleyby Art Voellinger,
Suburban (St. Louis) Journals15 November 2009
On Oct. 27 when the Missouri Valley Conference held its annual Basketball Media Day at the Sheraton City Center in St. Louis, I again appreciated why the Valley deserves more than a "mid-major" tag.
The 20th edition of the State Farm Arch Madness (March 4-7) at the Scottrade Center will include a Hall of Fame induction and more.
Among the inductees is Rich Herrin, who coached Southern Illinois University at Carbondale to a 225-174 record from 1985-1998 and is the only men's coach to capture three consecutive MVC postseason titles (1993-95).
In addition, Fred Huff, a longtime SIUC sports information director and associate athletic director, will be recognized at the Hall of Fame brunch March 5 as recipient of the Paul Morrison Award for making significant contributions to SIUC and the conference. Morrison was the longtime SID and historian at Drake University.
While Herrin, a McKendree grad and former prep coach at Okawville and Marion, did not attend the Media Day, Huff joked that he's concerned "Rich will cut into my speaking time in March."
The SID for the Salukis from 1960-2001, Huff is credited for promoting some of SIU's most historic sports moments, including the 1967 Walt Frazier-led National Invitation Tournament championship team, and a 1983 national championship football team.
However, when I asked the Du Quoin, Ill., native if the NIT experience was the highlight of his career, he hesitated.
After reciting the conclusion of a poem that appeared in the Newark, N.J., Star-Ledger in '67 and ended with "What the hell is a Saluki?", Huff referred to the men's 1977-78 season, which was to be the first year on the Division I level for the University of Evansville.
After winning one of their first four games, the Evansville team and coaches were killed in a plane crash on Dec. 13, 1977 shortly after takeoff. A few days later, Huff approached SIUC Athletic Director Gayle Sayers with an idea to host a memorial tournament for Evansville.
"Because of the tragedy, we were left with two openings in our schedule," Huff said. "But I went to Gayle, and he told me to tell (SIUC) Coach Paul Lambert that we should host the tourney to take the place of one Evansville had on their schedule.
"We held it at our arena, and did not charge admission, but asked for donations to Evansville. We had huge crowds, and I still get chills when I recall hearing the standing ovation when representatives of Evansville were introduced."
Huff's passion for his alma mater also included his authoring a book, "Saluki Sports History...100 Years of Fact and Highlights." Proceeds from it were donated to an endowment fund for a sports information graduate assistant position.
A 2000 inductee of the Saluki Sports Hall of Fame, Huff directed numerous students into careers as collegiate and pro sports publicists. Through the years he also was recognized by many sportswriters and editors for his contributions of game results long before the world of the Internet.
"I can remember when we'd be working 2 1/2 hours after a game and compiling statistics," Huff said.