What He Did and What Others Are Saying
(St. Louis, MO) – It is truly ‘the end of an era’. Doug Elgin is retiring as the Commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference. After 33 seasons at the helm of America’s top mid-major conference the sports pioneer is taking a well deserved lighter load.
He will be greatly missed. He is greatly loved.
Elgin is the longest tenured commissioner of any multi-sport Division 1 conference and his 33-year run is the longest in Valley history. It is the end of an era.
Elgin’s Accomplishments
During his tenure the Valley established St. Louis as the long term neutral site for the men’s basketball tournament and paved the way for St. Louis to become a consistent stop for the NCAA Tournament. Arch Madness will celebrate its 31st anniversary next Spring. Elgin and his staff went on to host eleven more St. Louis based, NCAA Tournament events between 1998 and 2016.
The Maryland native has been a member of the prestigious NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee and the National Invitation Tournament.
As a true pioneer, Elgin engineered the creation of the Valley’s television package. Long before numerous college conferences were creating ‘networks’ Elgin and the Valley had created theirs. MVC Television is the envy of many leagues. Media partners Fox Sports Midwest, ESPN and CBS Sports provide hundreds of Valley broadcasts each season.
Academic excellence, on-court success, media partnerships and the recent #OneValley initiative for social justice are just some of the characteristics of the Doug Elgin-led Missouri Valley Conference.
Our full story on Mr. Elgin and his retirement can be found here. It contains links to our full podcast discussion.
End of an Era
Media members and other collegiate sports officials hail the character, friendship and professionalism coming from Mr. Elgin.
The Coaches
Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson has known Doug Elgin for 20 years. The ‘Dean’ of the Valley coaches says he values Doug’s friendship and respects his passion. Jacobson says quite simply, ‘Doug Elgin is Valley Basketball’.
Five of the league’s ten head coaches played in and are now head coaches in the Valley. Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is one of those five. He says the conference owes Doug a lot. Muller says Elgin has fought for the league.
Porter Moser belongs in that club and took to twitter to express his appreciation for Mr. Elgin.
— Porter Moser (@PorterMoser) September 24, 2020
The Broadcasters
Southern Illinois broadcaster Mike Reis (@MikeReisSIU) took to twitter to echo many of our thoughts.
“Was hoping he might put this off longer…he will be missed that much. He had a tremendous run and leaves an important and impressive resume. Best and thanks, Doug!”
St. Louis broadcaster and Valley play-by-play man Tom Ackerman (@Ackerman1120) says Doug played a big role in his professional career.
“The car rides. The camaraderie. The trust and confidence. I owe so much to this man in helping launch the TV side of my career, calling @ValleyHoops, promoting @MVCsports. All of us are better because of his leadership. Happy retirement, Doug Elgin! You have more than earned it.“
CBS Sports Network’s Brent Stover (@BrentStoverCBS), known for his studio work on college football and during March Madness has broadcast numerous MVC Tournament games. He says Elgin helped create one of the nations top conference tournaments.
“Doug Elgin spent 3 incredible decades leading the MVC to prominence,” said Stover. “His ability to create one of the nation’s best conference tournaments, in terms of atmosphere and fanfare, is unmatched. To me though, the best part of his professional legacy will be his kindness, friendliness and warmth to everybody who worked with him.”
From Respected Peers
Elgin has a national reputation. Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner Bech DeBauche says his influence among other conference commissioners was great and his voice will be missed. DeBauche has led the OVC since 2009.
“Doug Elgin is definitely one of the good guys in our profession,” said DeBauche. “Although Doug is not one of the loudest voices in the commissioners’ meeting room, he has a great deal of influence. When Doug speaks, people always listened because of this knowledge of intercollegiate athletics, his thoughtful and creative approach to issues and his concern for student-athletes. He is a great athletics administrator, as evidenced by the success of the MVC during his long tenure, but even a better person. Doug will be dearly missed by the members of the CCA and in the world of intercollegiate athletics.”
Valparaiso University joined the Valley three years ago and Athletic Director Mark LaBarbera is happy for Elgin, but sad for college athletics. LaBarbera says college athletics needs men like Doug Elgin.
Elgin is a great conference commissioner and this is the end of an era. While the Valley will find a great replacement, the league will change. Elgin hopes, ‘for the better’. We wish Doug great joy in retirement and the league tremendous success in finding his replacement. It won’t be easy.
Do Good
Twitter Feed
As we near the closing of the portal window, we've reached 1900. Some of them never to play college basketball again, earn a college degree and some to play at a much lower level than they did last season.
I guess we'll be seeing this in a @RacersHoops uniform this year. Glad AJ is staying in the @ValleyHoops.
