E. L. Hutton, a native of Mississippi County, Arkansas, was born on December 26, 1926. After graduating from high school, he attended Memphis State University, where he played basketball.

He received a law degree from the University of Memphis Law School and served as an Assistant Attorney General from 1956 to 1959 before starting his private law practice in Memphis.

In the 1960s, Hutton began refereeing and assigning basketball officials. It started while refereeing high school games; schools would ask him to work
some of their games for the following season and bring someone with him. This grew into the schools sending Hutton their home schedule and asking him to get the officials for them.

In the late '60s, the TSSAA appointed Hutton Supervisor and Assigning Officer for the Memphis-Shelby Basketball Officials Association, and he remains Supervisor today. In the 1970s, several VSAC (NAIA) Colleges began asking Hutton to assign many of these same officials for their home basketball games.

In 1985, the Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference (TCAC) was formed. When
Hutton was appointed Commissioner, he formed the TCAC Basketball Officials Association and assigned basketball referees for TCAC Schools such as Christian Brothers College, Freed Hardeman, Union, Lambuth, Belmont, David Lipscomb, Trevecca, LeMoyne and Blue Mountain College. Hutton was re-appointed Commissioner each year.

In 1995, the TCAC was renamed the TranSouth Collegiate Athletic Conference and included Belmont, Berry, Birmingham Southern, Blue Mountain, Christian Brothers, Crichton, Cumberland, Freed Hardeman, Lambuth, Lee, Lipscomb, Lyon, Trevecca and Union. Hutton remains the Commissioner today.

Over the years, Hutton has worked the TSSAA Boy's Tournament six times, officiated in the Tennessee Junior College Conference, the old Missouri Valley Conference, the Gulf South, the SEC and the ABA.

In 1991, Hutton was inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame and is a member of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. Hutton continues to make his home in Memphis, where he practiced law for 35 years.