Hartzog to Enter MVC Hall of Fame; Ceremony in St. Louis on March 8
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Jan. 30, 2003
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Southern Illinois University legendary track and field coach Lew Hartzog will be inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 8, 2003 in St. Louis.
Hartzog and Drake football star John Bright will be inducted into the Hall, while coach Will Robinson of Illinois State will receive the Conference's Lifetime Achievement honor, and Olympic wrestler Bruce Baumgartner of Indiana State and basketball All-American Cathy Boswell of Illinois State will be recognized as Institutional Great selections.
For the first time, the Conference will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part of the 2003 State Farm/Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament weekend.
The 2003 Valley Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which will take place at the downtown Sheraton City Center, will also serve as the stage for the Conference's annual donation to the Bob Costas Cancer Center at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in downtown St. Louis. With revenues generated from its golf fundraiser, The Valley has contributed more than $75,000 to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital.
Hartzog, who coached the Saluki track and field program for 24 years, was voted NCAA National Coach of the Year by his peers in 1982 and 1984.
Born in Trent, Texas, but a native of Clarendon, Texas, Hartzog is the third Coaches Wing selection to the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame and the first non-men's basketball coach to receive the honor. He joins Valley coaching legend Henry "Hank" Iba of Oklahoma State, Maury John of Drake and Ralph Miller of Wichita State as the only head coaches inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference's Athletics Hall of Fame.
The head men's track and field coach at Southern Illinois from 1960 to 1984, Hartzog guided the Salukis to eight Missouri Valley Conference indoor titles (1976-78 and 1980-84) and 10-straight outdoor crowns (1975-84) during his tenure.
Hartzog was named Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Coach of the Year eight times.
Voted NCAA National Coach of the Year by his peers in 1982 and 1984, Hartzog powered SIU to a fifth-place showing at the 1984 NCAA Outdoor Championship.
Hartzog, who returned to Carbondale in 2001 for a ceremony where the new outdoor track at McAndrew Stadium was named in his honor, coached eight Olympians, more than 60 All-Americans and seven SIU Hall of Famers. He also tutored 24 individual indoor and 29 individual outdoor league champions.
Hartzog replaced Gale Sayers as Southern Illinois' interim athletics director on Aug. 18, 1981, and his position became effective on Sept. 1, 1981. Four months later, he was named the Salukis' permanent athletics director and held that position until April of 1985.
Hartzog, 78, currently resides in Silver City, New Mexico.
The Hall of Fame ceremony (8:30-11 a.m.) is open to the public and tickets are $40 each. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call Ruth Anne Montgomery at the MVC, 314-421-0339.