Bio

Mel Patton attended Southern Illinois University-Carbondale on a basketball scholarship.  After receiving his BS degree, he graduated from St. Louis University Law School.

Mel joined the Fontbonne University staff as Vice President of Business and Finance in 1985, and continued in that capacity until 1998. An avid sports enthusiast, Mel was in full support of the addition of men’s basketball to the campus athletic scene. He, along with then President Meneve Dunham, worked long and hard to raise the necessary funds to build the student center. This center is now the focal point for so many of our student-athletes and serves the general student population as well.

Mel has earned many previous honors. Among them is his membership in the Helms Hall of Fame as a college All-American in Baseball; member of the Mon-Clair Baseball League Hall of Fame, and a member of the Professional Baseball Players Association.

As a member of the Fontbonne University family, Mel became known as the ‘voice of Fontbonne’.  His golden tones on the PA system at basketball games lent a professional atmosphere to those games. His support of athletics at Fontbonne through his enthusiasm and his financial endeavors on our behalf certainly has merited his addition to the Fontbonne University Hall of Fame.

Mel passed away in 2009.