MVC HALL OF FAME AUGUST 13, 2019 MVC Hall of Fame Contact: Mike Kern, Associate Commissioner Cell: 314.435.4779 • Email: [email protected] 1818 Chouteau Ave. • St. Louis, MO 63103 www.mvc-sports.com SIX SELECTED FOR MVC ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME The Missouri Valley Conference will honor its past LARRY HUMES, EVANSVILLE (1963-66) when the league conducts its annual Hall of Fame induc- Larry Humes left the University of Evansville as the tion ceremony in St. Louis on Friday, March 6, 2020. leading scorer in program history with 2,236 points and The 23rd MVC Hall of Fame class features a two-sport he currently ranks third on that list, despite not playing in (baseball/football) student-athlete in Mike Prior (Illinois an era with the three-point line. State); a baseball student-athlete in Bill Mueller (Mis- Humes finished his UE career in 1966, leading the souri State); a four-time NCAA track & field pole vault team to an overall mark of 73-12, three NCAA Tournament champion in Kylie Hutson (Indiana State); coaching leg- appearances and two National Championships. He was a ends Richard “Itchy” Jones (Southern Illinois baseball) member of the best team in school history, the 1964-65 and Phog Allen (Kansas basketball) and basketball star NCAA Championship squad, which went a perfect 29-0 Larry Humes (Evansville). with wins over Iowa, Northwestern, Massachusetts and The league will conduct its annual Hall of Fame cere- Notre Dame. mony as part the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Following the 1965 season, Humes earned Sport- Men’s Basketball Championship next March 5-8. The ing News Honorable Mention All-America honors, which spanned over all divisions of college basketball. Addition- March 6 festivities will begin with an 8:00 a.m. break- ally, he earned First-Team All-America honors (UPI and AP) fast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:30 a.m. for the College Division in 1965 and 1966, and he was Tickets to the 2020 Hall of Fame event – scheduled to an honorable mention pick by the AP in 1964. He also be held at Stifel Theatre (formerly known as the Peabody earned First-Team All-Indiana Collegiate Conference plau- Opera House), which is adjacent to Enterprise Center dits in 1965 and 1966; and Humes was an NABC All-Dis- (formerly known as Scottrade Center) – can be obtained trict 3rd Team selection in 1965 and 2nd Team in 1966. by calling the league office at (314) 444-4300. Tickets Humes was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall are available on a first-come, first-served basis. of Fame in 1991, and he was Indiana’s Mr. Basketball in The 2020 State Farm MVC Tournament marks a mile- 1962 while going 97-5 in high school, earning Most Valu- stone for the league as it will celebrate 30-straight years able Player honors of the ICC in all three seasons. in St. Louis. With 30-straight years at the same neutral He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the third round site, Arch Madness is the second-longest neutral site of the NBA Draft and went on to a successful teaching tenured collegiate tourney in the nation (following only and coaching career following his college career, and the Big East in New York City). currently lives in Indianapolis, Ind. His jersey No. 50 has “The Missouri Valley Conference has always been rec- been retired. ognized for the great success of its athletics programs, with a rich history that dates back more than a century,” KYLIE HUTSON INDIANA STATE (2006-10) said Commissioner Doug Elgin. “Our MVC Hall of Fame Hutson is one of the most decorated track & field has provided us with an opportunity to honor the stu- athletes in Missouri Valley Conference history. She was dent-athletes, coaches, administrators and contributors a four-time NCAA National Pole Vault Champion (Indoor & who have played important roles in the Conference and Outdoor 2009, 2010) and five-time All American (2008, in intercollegiate athletics. 2009, 2010) while competing for Indiana State. “The individuals we will be honoring in the Class of She earned Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Most 2020 have brought significant honor to themselves, their Valuable Field Athlete (2009, 2010) and MVC Outdoor institutions and to the Conference. We are truly humbled Most Valuable Field Athlete (2008, 2009) and was also to have this opportunity to salute them for their achieve- a three-time Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete ments.” (2008, 2009, 2010). Hutson was also a 7-time All-Mis- souri Valley Conference performer, earning outdoor honors in 2007, 2008 and 2009, while earning all-MVC honors at the indoor meet all four seasons (2007, 2008, 2009, and MVC HALL OF FAME CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT AUGUST 13, 2019 2010). Hutson is the only MVC women’s pole vaulter to On the playing field, Jones was the Salukis’ baseball win as many as three outdoor titles (2007, 2008, 2009) MVP in 1957 and earned All-Interstate Intercollegiate and she’s also the only pole vaulter in MVC history to earn Athletic Conference honors three times as a second four-straight titles at the MVC indoor meet. baseman. Following a professional playing career in the She holds Indiana State school records in the outdoor Baltimore Orioles minor league system, Jones began his pole vault (14-09.50 – 2010) and indoor pole vault (14- coaching career as head basketball coach at Jacksonville 09.00 – 2010). Hutson also holds MVC Championship High School in 1961. meet records in both the outdoor and indoor events, and Following his 21-year stint at SIU, Jones continued his is also the league’s all-time record-holder in the pole vault, coaching career at Illinois. In 2000, he led the Fighting indoors and outdoors. She also holds the Marks Field Illini to a Big Ten Tournament title and an automatic bid to pole vault record (15-05.00 – 2013). the NCAA Regionals. While Jones’ finest season at Illinois Hutson was the Great Lakes Region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year (2010 indoor & outdoor) and was the was in 1998, when he led the Fighting Illini to a 42-21 re- USATF Outdoor Pole Vault Champion in 2011. She tied cord and their first regular season Big Ten Championship for seventh at the Olympic Trials in 2012 and placed 14th in 35 years. in the pole vault at the World Outdoor Championship in A native and long-time resident of Herrin, Ill., Jones 2011. She also competed in the Olympic Trials in 2008, graduated from Southern Illinois in 1960, lettering in both 2012 and 2016, and she participated in the pole vault at baseball and basketball. He earned his bachelor of sci- the World Outdoor Championships in 2013. ence degree in physical education in 1961 and master’s Hutson was Inducted into the Indiana State Athletics degree in physical education in 1965 from SIU. Hall of Fame in 2018. He is a member of the Southern Illinois University, Illinois High School Association Baseball, Illinois High School As- RICHARD “ITCHY” JONES, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS sociation Basketball, Jacksonville High School, Herrin High Jones coached 39 years at the collegiate level at Mac- School and MacMurray College Athletic Hall of Fames. Murray (1966-68), Southern Illinois (1970-90) and Illinois The $4 million stadium renovation of Abe Martin Field (1991-2005), and he is one of college baseball’s top-20 honored Jones as it re-opened for the 2014 season as all-time winningest coaches, currently at 18th all-time with Abe Martin Field at Richard “Itchy” Jones Stadium. SIU, a 1,242-752-6 record. which also hosts the MVC Baseball Championship in May, An American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame will retire Jones’ baseball number (1) this coming spring. inductee, Jones created a baseball dynasty in 21 years as head coach at his alma mater, Southern Illinois, leading SIU BILL MUELLER, MISSOURI STATE (1990-93) into the national spotlight, guiding the Salukis to a 738- Mueller was a four-year starter in baseball at Missouri 345-5 record, including 10 NCAA Tournament appearances State and was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of and three trips to the NCAA College World Series. the Year in 1993. That year he also received first-team In 1971, his second year at SIU, Jones led Salukis to All-Missouri Valley Conference honors and ABCA All-Region within one game of the national championship, finishing laurels. second at the CWS. In 1974 and 1977, Jones guided SIU In his collegiate career, Mueller led Missouri State in to the CWS once again, as the Salukis placed third both hits, batting average, runs scored and stolen bases three times. times and paced the Bears in at-bats and triples twice. In his 16 MVC seasons, he led the Salukis to the He graduated as Missouri State’s single-season record league’s best-regular-season record seven times and also holder for runs, hits, singles and walks and had career won five MVC Tournament titles. In 1990, Jones’ 21st and marks for runs (234), hits (289), total bases (398), walks final season at SIU, he led the Salu-kis to a 49-14 record, (154) and stolen bases (65). He was selected to play for the USA National Team and advanced to the NCAA Regionals as a No. 2 seed; and SIU participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1991 and after came within one game of clinching another CWS berth. his collegiate career he was drafted and signed by the San Jones was Named the NCAA Division I Diamond Base- Francisco Giants in 1993, he made his Major League de- ball Coach of the Year in 1990 and also earned two other but in 1996.