By Ryan Anderson,
April 4, 2024
Former longtime 欧美视频 Vice President for Intercollegiate
Athletics, the late Jerry Hughes, will be posthumously inducted into the Mid-America
Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 enshrinement
class, the conference office announced Thursday, April 4.
Hughes was named athletics director at UCM in 1983 and went on to serve in that role
until his passing in January 2023.
Under his leadership, Central Missouri won 179 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics
Association championships and 10 national championships, in addition to having 50
other top-four NCAA finishes and making more than 300 NCAA postseason appearances.
In addition to his success directing athletics at Central Missouri, Hughes held multiple
leadership positions in Division II governance, including serving on the NCAA Executive
Committee (when that body oversaw all three divisions) and as chair of the Division
II Championships Committee. He also served a term as NCAA vice president of Division
II and was a member of the NCAA Council (both before the NCAA federated its governance
structure in 1997), making him the only person to twice hold the highest-ranking office
available to athletics administrators in Division II. After federation, Hughes chaired
the Division II Management Council.
Hughes was most recently honored with the 2023 NCAA Division II 50th Anniversary Gold
Award, an award given to an individual who made a lasting and positive impact on all
of NCAA Division II.
Hughes graduated from Central Missouri in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in physical
education, having lettered in golf during his undergraduate studies, and he received
his master's degree in secondary school administration from the university in 1979.
He joined Central Missouri that same year as a business placement director and became
assistant athletics director in July 1981. He was named athletics director in January
1983.
Hughes was posthumously inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame in February 2024.
He was enshrined in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and was named a Missouri
Sports Legend by the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
The MIAA Hall of Fame Class of 2024:
Jackie Bishop, Missouri Western Softball Athlete
John Bryant, Southwest Baptist Men's and Women's Tennis Coach
Nate Dreiling, Pittsburg State Football Athlete
David Fisher, Missouri Southern Baseball Athlete
Jennifer Harris, Washburn Women's Basketball Athlete
Maddie Holub, Fort Hays State Softball Athlete
Jerry Hughes, Administrator, Central Missouri
Russ Jewett, Pittsburg State Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track and Field Coach
Andy Vogelsberg, Emporia State Men's Track and Field Athlete
Kasey Waterman, Missouri Western Football Athlete
LEGACY 鈥 Dani Fronabarger Robinson, Pittsburg State Women's Basketball Athlete