Steve Largent Earns MVC Hall of Fame
Already a member of the Pro Football and The University of Tulsa’s Athletic Hall of Fame, Steve Largent will be inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame in March 2011.
The Missouri Valley Conference will honor its past on Friday, March 4, 2011, when the league conducts its annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony in St. Louis. Largent will be joined in the 14th MVC Hall of Fame class by basketball standout Joe Allen of Bradley, soccer legend Johnny Torres of Creighton, gymnastics icon Kurt Thomas of Indiana State, collegiate football pioneer Linwood Sexton of Wichita State and volleyball coaching legend Iradge Ahrabi-Fard of UNI.
Largent was an undersized wide receiver at 5-foot-11 but utilized keen moves and great hands to grab a place in NFL immortality.
A two-time, first-team all-conference selection for the Golden Hurricane, Largent led The Valley in receiving as a junior and senior. In fact, he paced the nation in touchdown receptions with 14 in both the 1974 and 1975 seasons.
A second-team All-America choice in 1975, he collected 51 receptions for 1,000 yards. He ended his collegiate career with 136 receptions for 2,385 yards and 32 touchdowns, finishing second on the all-time Tulsa reception chart.
After being drafted by the Houston Oilers in the fourth round of the 1976 draft, he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks and went on to earn first-team All-Rookie Team honors that campaign.
A seven-time Pro Bowl Game choice, Largent played 14 seasons in the NFL and concluded his career with league records for receptions (819), yards (13,089), touchdowns (100), consecutive games with a reception (177), 50-catch seasons (10) and 1,000-yard seasons (8). He was tabbed the 1988 NFL Man of the Year.
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995, he was selected to the University of Tulsa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991. On Oct. 26, 2008, he became the eighth player in Golden Hurricane football history to have his jersey retired (83).
A 1976 graduate of the University of Tulsa with a bachelor’s degree in biology, Largent served as a U.S. Congressman from the state of Oklahoma in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1994 to 2002.
For the eighth time in nine years, The Valley will conduct its annual Hall of Fame ceremony as part the State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Championship weekend next March 3-6.
The Valley Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at Scottrade Center on Friday, March 4. The event will begin with an 8 a.m. breakfast, followed by the induction ceremony at 8:45 a.m. Tickets to the Induction Ceremony can be obtained by calling the league office at (314) 444-4300. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.