MSU Athletics Hall of Fame
DON PAYTON
Director of Information and Publications 1956-85
Inducted January 20th, 2017
Winner of the Don Payton Award, founded in his honor.
Payton worked in a variety of functions in University administration for five MSU presidents and also established the guidelines and oversaw the efforts for the consistent and regular coverage and reporting on MSU sports as Bear athletics moved from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and then Division I and the program added women's sports during his tenure. He supervised work on the Missouri State student newspaper and the school's yearbook through the publications committee, managed the University's public information flow as the school grew from an enrollment of 2,300 to over 16,000 students, and took charge of a variety of special projects. He was a driving force as Missouri State took the lead in a number of conference, state and regional initiatives and he was active in monitoring the work of the MSU Board of Governors. Payton contributed a regular article to the Missouri State Magazine from his retirement in 1985 until he passed away in 2014.
