Mike Kern Associate Commissioner
Mike Kern is in his 21st season at the Missouri Valley and 21st year overall in serving the membership. In a dual role, Kern serves as Associate Commissioner for the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and has been with the Missouri Valley Football Conference since 1991. For The Valley, he helps oversee all media relations for the 18-sport league, and his primary responsibility is men’s basketball. For men’s basketball, Kern’s primary focus is communications, but he also assists in scheduling and with the MVC’s in-house television network. Kern is also involved in strategic planning for the conference and also helps coordinate the league’s marketing and promotions efforts in conjunction with MVC Sports Properties. He was Media Coordinator for the 2001 NCAA Women’s Final Four, the 2004 NCAA Men’s Regional, the 2005 NCAA Men’s Final Four, and the 2009 Women’s Final Four. He was assistant tournament manager for the 2008 First and Second Round NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Omaha, and will serve as Media Coordinator for a Second and Third Round NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Kansas City, Mo., in March 2013. He has also served as timeout coordinator for two NCAA women’s basketball regionals. In addition to communications duties with the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Kern oversees the MVFC’s merchandising and licensing program, and the in-house television package, which includes scheduling and clearances, plus the hiring of on-air talent. In 2002, he received the St. Louis Business Journal’s annual award for “Best Use of Technology in Sports” as he introduced the league’s on-line statistical reporting system used for the league’s Olympic sport programs. Kern, 45, earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Missouri in 1988 and a master’s degree in communications management from league member Missouri State in 1990. A St. Louis native, Kern served as a sports information graduate assistant for two years at MSU and as a student assistant at Missouri as an undergraduate. His publications and features have earned numerous CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) awards. His 1998 women’s basketball guide, 2000 and 2002 football guides and 2006 men’s basketball guide were judged “Best in the Nation,” while his 1993, 2006 and 2007 Valley Football guides, the 1995 MVC softball guide, the 1998 women’s basketball guide, the 2000 women’s basketball guide, and his 2004 men’s basketball guide earned “Best in the Nation” for their cover designs. His 1997, 1998 and 2006 Valley Football guides, and his 2004 men’s basketball guide each placed third, while the 1999 football guide, his 2005 men’s basketball guide and 2008 football guide were second nationally. Kern’s 1990 MSU softball guide was also second in the nation. He has a total of 30 national top-5 awards for his publications work. He is a member of CoSIDA, ConSIDA (Conference Sports Information Directors of America), the Football Writers Association of America, and the United States Basketball Writers Association. Kern was recently married to Terri Bright (August 2011) and they live in Chesterfield, Mo. They have two boys (Michael and Max) and two girls (Megan and Hannah).
Jack R. Watkins Associate Commissioner
Jack R. Watkins is in his 21st season at the Missouri Valley, having served nine years as Associate Commissioner for Marketing and Television and 11 years as the league’s public information and media services director. In July 2012, Watkins, 49, was named tournament director for the MVC men’s basketball championship in St. Louis and assigned the sport of baseball for the Conference, serving as tournament director, arranging league schedules and overseeing the assignment of umpires for MVC games. In addition, he is the primary staff contact with MVC Sports Properties, which handles television advertising and sponsorship sales for The Valley, and oversees marketing and promotions for the league. The chair of the Missouri Valley Conference’s Athletics Hall of Fame Committee, he also develops promotional campaigns for league championships. As the staff’s contact for television, Watkins coordinates contract negotiation, production, hiring on-air talent and clearances for the MVC Television Network on FOX Sports Midwest, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FOX College Sports and ESPN. During his tenure at The Valley, he has been a media coordinator for the 1993, 1998 and 1999 NCAA Men’s Basketball Division I Midwest Regionals and 2002 NCAA First and Second Round Tournament in St. Louis, and served as a television time-out coordinator a total of 14 times for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Division I Championship and once for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Division I Championship. Watkins will serve as tournament director for a Second and Third Round NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Kansas City, Mo., in March 2013. As men’s basketball publicity contact, his 1997, 2000 and 2002 MVC hoops guides were voted “Best in the Nation” by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) conference publications committee, and the 2001 and 2003 MVC yearbooks earned “Best in the Nation” for their cover design. A native of Sikeston, Mo., Watkins became the 14th recipient of the Katha Quinn Award -- presented for service to sportswriters who cover college basketball -- from the 800-member United States Basketball Writers Association in April 2003. A 1985 University of Missouri-Columbia journalism graduate, he served assistant sports information director at Kansas State University during the 1986-87 school year, coordinating media services for the sports of volleyball, men’s basketball and baseball. From 1988 to 1992, he was assistant sports information director at the University of Missouri, handling publicity for the sports of volleyball, wrestling, men’s basketball, women’s gymnastics and baseball. While at Missouri, he received 10 publications awards from CoSIDA and served as media coordinator for five Big Eight Conference championship events and an NCAA Gymnastics Regional in 1992. A member of the USBWA and National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA), Watkins and his wife Genny live in Creve Coeur, Mo.
MVC Info.
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Missouri Valley Conference Staff
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