Fred Huff named 2010 Paul Morrison Award winner
10/22/2009 | 12:00:00 | General
Oct. 22, 2009
By Jack Watkins
www.mvcsports.com
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Missouri Valley Conference announced today that Fred Huff, long-time Southern Illinois University administrator, has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the Paul Morrison Award.
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."
The presentation of the award will take place during the Presidents 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.
"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, Ill., 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.
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.
