WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Doug Elder, who was the head coach of the Midwestern State men's soccer team for 18 seasons, was selected as a 2026 inductee into the Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor on Thursday.

Elder is the second individual from MSU to be enshrined by the LSC, joining football star Dominic Rhodes, who was inducted in 2021.

Elder closed his prodigious career as the winningest head coach in the storied history of MSU men's soccer. He ended his career as the 12th winningest coach in NCAA soccer history (all divisions) with an .800 winning percentage. That ranks second all-time in NCAA Division II. Elder's 274 wins are the 30th most in D2 history.

Elder brought current head coach Michael Meachum to Midwestern State to serve as an assistant head coach in 2011.

"Seeing him and how he deals with people everyday — from the business office to the registrar's office to admissions to the custodial people — it changed everything," Meachum said. "It's been really cool to know how that is valued throughout the university and throughout the community."

The lore of the MSU men's soccer program grew during the Elder era with winning seasons in each of his 18 seasons at the helm. The Mustangs made postseason bids a near annual rite of passage, making the championship field 13 times while advancing to the national quarterfinals on six occasions and to the Final Four in 2007 and 2010. That's to say nothing of the nine Southwest Soccer/Lone Star/Heartland Conference titles gained under Elder's tutelage. 

A 1985 alum of MSU, Elder posted a 274-56-31 mark after taking the reins of the Mustangs' soccer program in 2000. On Sept. 10, 2015, he surpassed former mentor Howard Patterson to become the winningest coach in program history with win No. 222 following an 8-1 victory over Southern Nazarene (Okla.) at Stang Park. 

"Doug ended his coaching career as an all-time LSC great, with a winning percentage that ranks as one the best in NCAA soccer history. His impact on the sport of soccer and former student-athletes is unmatched," LSC Commissioner Jay Poerner said.

Elder earned LSC Coach of the Year honors four times (2022, 2009, 2010 and 2011), Southwest Soccer Conference Coach of the Year honors four-straight years from 2005-08 and Heartland Conference Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017. He also collected his seventh NSCAA Region Coach of the Year plaque in 2017 after previously gaining the honor in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. 

Elder's players have claimed 27 All-America honors including National Soccer Coaches Association of America /United Soccer Coaches awardees Josh Hill (2002), Daniel Woolard (2006), Brandon Swartzendruber (2006), Ahmad Ihmeidan (2007-08), Allen Thomson (2009), Ryan Spence (2010-11), Albert Rodriguez (2015), Flavio Guzman (2015-16), Christian Okeke (2016), Pierre Bocquet (2017) and Scott Doney (2017).

Elder and and West Texas A&M's Kendra (Morgan) Potts, a volleyball student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach at WT are the two newest members of the LSC Hall of Honor.