MVC Release

WICHITA, Kan. – The Missouri Valley Conference has announced its 20^th Hall of Fame class and it features two members with Wichita State ties including long-time administrator Dr. Don Beggs and baseball All-American Eric Wedge.
 
Wichita State now has 13 members of the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame as Beggs and Wedge join Dave Stallworth (1997), Xavier McDaniel (1998), Antoine Carr (1999), Joe Carter (1999), Cleo Littleton (2000), Ralph Miller (2001), Phil Stephenson (2005), Roland Banks (2006), Linwood Sexton (2011), Darren Dreifort (2013) and Marty Perline (2014).
 
The Missouri Valley Conference will honor its past on Friday, March 3, 2017, when the league conducts its annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony in St. Louis.
 
The 20th MVC Hall of Fame class features three long-time administrators in Dr. Don Beggs (Southern Illinois/Wichita State), Dr. Donald Boydston (Southern Illinois) and Dr. Mary Jo Wynn (Missouri State); a women's basketball Olympian in Charlotte Lewis of Illinois State; a former major league baseball manager and Wichita State baseball star in Eric Wedge, who won a 1989 NCAA Championship with the Shockers; and Bradley's Marcus Pollard, who helped the resurgence of Braves basketball in the early 1990s and later attained NFL star status as a tight end after not playing football in college.
 
For the 14th time in 15 years, the league will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship next March 2-5. The March 3 festivities will begin with an 8:00 a.m. breakfast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:30 a.m.
 
Tickets to the 2017 Hall of Fame event – scheduled to be held in the Peabody Opera House, which is adjacent to Scottrade Center – can be obtained by calling the league office at (314) 444-4300. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
"The Missouri Valley Conference has always been recognized for the great success of its athletics programs, with a rich history that dates back more than a century," said Commissioner Doug Elgin. "Our MVC Hall of Fame has provided us with an opportunity to honor the student-athletes, coaches, administrators and contributors who have played important roles in the Conference and in intercollegiate athletics."
 
"The individuals we will be honoring in the Class of 2017 are representative of the men and women who have preceded them in our Hall of Fame. They've brought significant honor to themselves, their institutions and to the Conference. We are truly humbled to have this opportunity to salute them for their achievements." 
 
DR. DON BEGGS, WICHITA STATE/SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Dr. Donald Beggs, who served as Chancellor at Southern Illinois and President at Wichita State, enters the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame as the 2017 Paul Morrison Award recipient.  Part of the MVC Hall of Fame, 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.  Beggs served the two league schools for a combined 45 years.
 
Beggs served as Wichita State's President from 1999-2012 and has been credited with increasing the national profile of the University, while his legacy includes the renovation of Koch Arena and numerous other capital improvements on the campus.   He became WSU's 12th president in 1999 after serving two years as Chancellor at SIU Carbondale.   He has served as Chair of the MVC President's Council, and also represented the MVC on the prestigious NCAA Board of Directors.  Beggs is the only person in the league in at least 30 years to have served as CEO at two different MVC schools.
 
He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Southern Illinois and his doctorate in educational measurement and statistics in 1966 from the University of Iowa.   From 1966-1998, Beggs served in a number of capacities at SIU, beginning as assistant professor of educational measurement and statistics.  He was named associate dean of the Graduate School in 1970, professor of educational measurement and statistics in 1972 and assistant dean of the College of Education in 1973.
 
Beggs became the acting dean for University Programs and acting assistant vice president for Academic Affairs and Research in 1975, and he was also named associate dean for the College of Education in 1975.  In 1981, he was appointed Dean of the College of Education.  He was named Chancellor at SIU in 1996.
 
During his tenure on the MVC Presidents Council, Beggs was a strong advocate for the Conference's student-athletes and showed a commitment to supporting competitive athletics, both at the Conference level and at SIU and WSU.
 
He and his wife Shirley have two children, Brent and Pam.
 
ERIC WEDGE, WICHITA STATE
A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Eric Wedge of Wichita State University enters the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame as just the seventh to be honored in the sport of baseball.  His collegiate career in Wichita spanned 1987-89.
 
Wedge, a phenomenal catcher and leader, was the driving force behind Wichita State's first national championship team in 1989, as he earned first-team All-America honors and was the MVC Joe Carter Player of the Year after hitting .380 with 23 homers and 99 RBI.  He was selected as the MVP in the West II Regional and earned a spot on the All-College World Series Team. 
 
In 1989, Wedge helped the Shockers to a school-record 24-game winning streak, and was a finalist for the R.E. "Bob" Smith Award and Golden Spikes Award that year.  Following the season he was drafted in the third round (83rd pick) by the Boston Red Sox and played four seasons in the majors with Boston and Colorado.
 
A two-time all-MVC selection, Wedge is a member of the Wichita State 25-Year Anniversary Team, the WSU Hall of Fame (1996) and is also a member of the league's All-Centennial Baseball Team.  In his three seasons at WSU, the Shockers reached three NCAA Tournaments and twice played in the College World Series (1988, 1989).  WSU won three regular-season MVC crowns and two MVC Tournament crowns during his collegiate playing career.
 
In the Shocker career record books, Wedge is 23rd in doubles (54), 11th in home runs (45), 21st in RBI (206), 19th in total bases (454), 14th in slugging percentage (.588), and ninth in walks (173).
 
Named AL Manager of the Year in 2007, he had the Indians within one game of the World Series, falling to the eventual champion Boston Red Sox in seven games.  Wedge managed the Cleveland Indians from 2003-09 and became manager of the Seattle Mariners in 2011.   He is currently a player development advisor with the Toronto Blue Jays and has served as a studio analyst for ESPN.