The 2017 class of the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame will feature two members with ties to SIU-Carbondale.
Don Boydston was the Salukis' director of athletics during one of the department's most successful eras from 1957 to 1972.
During that span, SIU won 12 national championships in gymnastics, cross-country, swimming, golf and tennis. The Saluki men's basketball team also captured the 1967 NIT championship.
Boydston also spearheaded the two-year project of building the SIU Arena, which was completed in the spring of 1964.
The athletic support facility - built as part of the Saluki Way project - is named after him.
The hall also welcomes Don Beggs, who served as a faculty member and in numerous SIU administrative roles during his 32 years at the school ...capped off when he served as chancellor from 1996 to 1998.
Beggs also served as president at Wichita State University from 1999 to 2012. He is the only person in the league in at least 30 years to have served as CEO at two different MVC schools.
The Hall of Fame ceremony will be held in March during the MVC men's basketball tournament.
