The St. Louis Sports Commission was named the sports commission of the year by the National Association of Sports Commissions on Tuesday. The SLSC also won the honor in 2002. They beat out about 350 other sports commissions in the organization and were the first one to win it twice. The NASC started handing out the award in 2001.

St. Louis Sports Commission president Frank Viverito was thankful for other organizations who have assisted them and the fans who showed up at the events.

“We just want to say thank you and deflect that praise and that honor to all the people who help us,” Viverito said.

From March of 2004 to March of 2005, St. Louis hosted everything from an NCAA basketball regional, to the NCAA wrestling championships, to Olympic qualifying events. The St. Louis Sports Commission was a big part of the NCAA men’s Final in 2005, though those efforts fell outside of the timeframe for winning Tuesday’s award.

Viverito believes the positive reviews they’ve gotten from hosting the Final Four should keep the city’s tradition of hosting big events alive. He said, ““The understanding that a lot of different people and a lot of different businesses could come together and produce something that came off so very, very well,” Viverito said, “can be an inspiration to organizations and individuals in this region as we look to do more and bigger and better things.”

The commission also helped to bring the 2009 NCAA women’s Final Four–which St .Louis also hosted in 2001–and the 2007 NCAA men’s hockey Frozen Four. St. Louis will also host an NCAA men’s basketball regional in 2007.