E. L. Hutton, a native of Mississippi County in 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 1960’s, Hutton began refereeing and assigning basketball officials. It started when 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 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 and 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 reappointed Commissioner each year. In 1995, the TCAC was renamed the TranSouth Collegiate Athletic Conference and has 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, 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.