Graham and Adrian Read were elected to the board at the union's annual meeting last night, with Paul Dwyer, of the Dunedin club, and Kelvin Windsor, of Harbour, the unsuccessful candidates.
Graham, who was nominated by the Dunedin club, replaced Duncan Simpson, who did not seek re-election, while Read, who was vice-chairman of the board, and was nominated by the Alhambra-Union club, has been on the board, or a similar committee before the game went professional since 1992.
Only two places were up for re-election on the board, with the chairman of the 10-member board to be decided at its first meeting in a couple of weeks.
Ron Palenski is the current chairman.
Graham told the meeting he was passionate about Otago rugby and had been involved with the province for 30 years.
He said the province had always fought hard and enjoyed being the underdog.
"There are some northern counterparts who want to rub us out, want to erase us.
"They see us as a nuisance to them," he said.
"To me, I've been around rugby teams for a fair while and think you can always disagree and agree, but once you commit then you get on with it and make things happen."
He said Otago rugby was in the attraction business, and acknowledged all provinces were struggling to attract players.
"But we've got to attract players back to the game.
"That was not a problem five to 10 years ago. We need to find the answer to that.
"We've got to get stuck back into it and get the fans back. If we don't we will disappear."
Graham felt he could make a difference and said he knew the game well.
Read said rugby had changed greatly since he first joined the union and would continue to do so.
He wanted to get Otago rugby back on top but warned the game would face radical changes next year.
Palenski said, in his address reviewing the past year, whatever decisions were made in the future of rugby, "we have to change with it or die".
He did not yearn for the "good old days" and said there was no point looking back.
Otago could no longer compete financially with the likes of Auckland or Canterbury, and the decision by the Dunedin City Council and Otago Regional Council to support the new stadium was "courageous and necessary".
The selling of Carisbrook to the Dunedin City Council involved protracted and fraught negotiations but its successful conclusion would reduce a financial burden from the union for the medium- and long-term future, Palenski said.
Chief executive Richard Reid, in his address to the meeting, said the business model the union had been running was probably unsustainable and the union was trying to turn it round.
He warned the next two years would be tough financially.
A review of professional rugby was about to be presented to the Otago and Highlanders boards, while a review of amateur rugby was about to begin.
Reid said the test between France and the All Blacks in June was vital for Otago rugby.
Long-serving Otago administrator Gerard Simmons was made a life member of the union last night.
Simmons has been involved with the union for 28 years in various roles, including the manager of the Otago senior side from 1986 to 1996.
John Hunter was appointed president of the union, taking over from Mick Walsh.
