Nicknamed "Mr. NAIA", Alva O. Duer spent nearly three decades working to better the game of college basketball and promote equality in sports. Duer coached Pepperdine to the NAIB Finals in 1945. He was founder and director of the NAIB/NAIA National Basketball Championship Tournament from 1949-75. Duer pioneered integration of basketball with the inclusion of an all-black school in the 1954 NAIA tournament. He held several executive and administrative positions including membership on the AAU and U.S. Basketball Association Ethics Committee, member of the Board of Directors with the U.S. Olympic Committee and member of the Board of Directors with the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Died November 18, 1987