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Rick Majerus
Rick Majerus has engineered two amazing turnarounds in his college coaching career and is in the process of doing the same at Saint Louis University. Coach Majerus just completed his third season with the Saint Louis Billikens and the future looks bright. Picked to finish 13th in the 14 team Atlantic-10, Rick guided Saint Louis to a 23 win season and to a 4th place A-10 finish. The Billikens also tasted post season success, as Runner-Up in the College Basketball Invitational. Rick garnered national attention for his transformation of the Saint Louis program. Sports Illustrated basketball writer Seth Davis called Rick's coaching job "terrific", noting that the Billikens were one of the youngest teams in the nation. Majerus turned the University of Utah into a perennial NCAA power going to 10 NCAA tournaments in 14 seasons including 4 Sweet 16s, 2 Elite 8s and the National Championship game in 1998. Prior to his tenure at Utah, Rick was the Head Coach at Ball State University for two seasons culminating with a trip to the NCAA 2nd round and a 29-3 record in 1989. Before returning to the bench with Saint Louis, Coach Majerus brought his basketball expertise to a national audience as one of the key analysts on ESPN. Whether in-studio or at a game, Rick was seen and heard by millions during the college basketball season. As one of the most recognizable personalities in college basketball, Majerus has been a frequent guest on national television programs and syndicated radio shows. Majerus lent his expertise as an analyst to CBS during the NCAA Tournament coverage in 1999 and worked the Final Four. Rick was born in Sheboygan, WI and grew up Milwaukee. He graduated from Marquette University High School and attended Marquette University earning a spot on the Warriors freshman team as a walk-on. While still attending Marquette, Majerus coached at St. Sebastian’s Grade School and Marquette High School. After graduating from Marquette in 1970, Majerus was hired by Al McGuire as a full-time assistant at Marquette in 1971. During Rick’s time as an assistant, Marquette won the NCAA National Championship season in 1977 and was runners-up in 1974. Majerus succeeded Hank Raymonds as Marquette's head coach in 1983. In three seasons, his teams went 56-35 (.615) and were invited to the NIT each season. Majerus directed the Warriors to a 17-13 record in his first campaign, followed by a 20-11 mark in 1984-85 and a 19-11 record in 1985-86.
With Lammi Sports Management as his marketing agency, Rick has become one of the most highly demanded speakers at conferences and coaching clinics across the country; each year Rick makes an average of nearly 50 appearances. He has been an instructor numerous times at Michael Jordan's Senior Flight School in Las Vegas. Majerus also hosted his own basketball camp at the University of Utah. An average of more than 2,000 kids from grades 1-12 attended the camp each year. |
Majerus left Marquette to become an assistant coach with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks in 1986-87. That season the Bucks went 50-32 and advanced to the NBA playoffs. After one season with the Bucks, Majerus moved on to become the head coach at Ball State, where he quickly became known as a hot coaching commodity. Majerus logged a 43-17 record in two seasons with the Cardinals. He earned National Coach of the Year honors from The Hoop Scoop after leading Ball State to a 29-3 record, the Mid-American Conference championship and the second round of the NCAA Tournament in his final season.
