Speakers Bio

Rick Majerus
Wisconsin

On April 30, 2007, Rick Majerus was introduced as the 24th head coach of the Billiken basketball program. Without question, Rick Majerus is the most accomplished head coach in the history of the Saint Louis University basketball. When he was announced to a cheering throng at an introductory news conference, the University made a loud and clear statement about its commitment to Billiken basketball.

Majerus' reputation as one of the game's greatest minds is supported by a number of career accomplishments. In 20 years of coaching, Majerus has amassed a 422-147 career record and has never had a losing season. When coaching a full season, he has missed the postseason on only two occasions in 17 years. Majerus' record stands among the elite coaches in college basketball. He has taken 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament and four to the NIT. He has reached the 20-win plateau 13 times, including two seasons with 30 wins.

During his time at Utah, Majerus led the Utes to 10 NCAA Tournaments and 10 regular-season conference titles. He has coached in four Sweet 16s, two Elite Eights and the 1998 national championship game. Utah finished four seasons ranked in the nation's top 10 during his 15-year tenure, including a No. 2 ranking at the end of the 1997-98 season.

Majerus led Utah to 10 regular-season conference championships in 13 years, the most of any NCAA Division I program in the nation from 1990-2003. In addition, he regularly had the Utes ranked in the top 25. Utah was ranked in the final USA Today/ESPN poll five consecutive years from 1995-1999, including top 10 finishes in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls from 1997-1999.

Majerus' coaching has earned him repeated national recognition. He has been selected conference Coach of the Year five times, and he was selected the Basketball Times and UPI Coach of the Year in 1991. Majerus was the 1992 and 1998 Playboy Coach of the Year and the John Wooden Coach of the Year in 1998. He was also a seven-time District Coach of the Year.

Prior to taking the helm at Utah, Majerus spent two seasons at Ball State, leading the 1988-89 squad to a 29-3 overall record and a spot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals' victory over Pittsburgh was the first NCAA Tournament win in school history. His two-year stint at Ball State was preceded by a one-year venture into professional basketball as an assistant coach for his home-state Milwaukee Bucks in 1986-87. Under head coach Don Nelson, Majerus helped the Bucks post a 50-32 record and qualify for the NBA playoffs.

In addition to his numerous collegiate coaching accolades, Majerus is well schooled in the international scene. He was an assistant coach on the 1993 Team USA squad, and the 1994 Team USA known as the "Dream Team II," which claimed the gold medal at the World Championships in Toronto, Canada. Standouts he coached on that team included Shaquille O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning. Majerus was also the head coach of the 1997 U-22 World Championship team, which featured another future Billiken head coach, Lorenzo Romar.

A native of Wisconsin, Majerus graduated from Marquette University with a bachelor's degree in history in 1970. He is enshrined in the Basketball Halls of Fame in both Utah (2000) and Wisconsin (2001) and was named the Utah Sports Person of the Year in 1991 and 1997.