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MEET OUR FEATURED HOOP HISTORIAN |
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Geneva's Brian Burmeister is affectionately known as the "Dean of the Hoop Historians" as he
has attended 42 previous Final Fours. His passion for college hoops
spans across the country. His friendships include notables such as
John Wooden, Roland Hemond and Adlai Stevenson. |
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BRIAN
BURMEISTER |
The Brian Burmeister File |
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Brian Burmeister was born in rural Woodstock, Illinois
on December 11, 1940 and was the son of a large dairy farm manager.
Brian attended a one room schoolhouse in Northern Illinois which equates to no
gymnasiums, swimming pool or any formal sports training. He went to Russell
Grade School -- a stones throw away from the Wisconsin state line where his
first competitive sports experience took place, playing on a softball team
that never lost. From that point on Brian was a born winner when it came
to sports. NFL great Otto Graham's mother was his music teacher but
basketball was only something that he said was played in front of a garage on
gravel. When hunting season started, Brian's classmates had the
afternoon off to chase pheasants, but Brian went home to watch the World
Series, which were all day games back then.
Brian started out at Zion Benton High School, but moved during his freshman
year to the Libertyville/Gurnee area where he attended and graduated from
Warren Township High School. The school was so small that everyone played
something just to fill out the teams. Brian's best sport was baseball, but
claimed to only be "just filling space" in everything else. In 1958 his alma
mater did beat the big suburban schools; New Trier, Waukegan and Evanston
during his senior season. David once again conquered Goliath.
Brian is a 1962 graduate of Lake Forest College and played baseball for
(DePaul basketball Hall of Famer) Dick Triptow. Coach Triptow can also
be credited in introducing Brian to the Final Four, as he took him to the NCAA
Championship in his senior year. That was where Brian met UCLA
Coach John Wooden -- who had his first team in the finals. To this day, Brian
still enjoys a close relationship to both Triptow and Wooden.
Brian attended graduate school was the University of Chicago MBA program and
was among the first Computer Program graduates. Through that experience
he met (then Dean of Students) George Schulz, later to be Secretary of Labor
and Secretary of the Treasury in the Richard Nixon Cabinet,, and two Nobel
Prize Winners, George Stigler and Milton Friedman. His work career was just
about totally at R. R. Donnelley and Sons. Gaylord Donnelley, CEO and
President, was a neighbor in Libertyville and came over to the Burmeister
household after graduation and took Brian to work where he stayed there for
forty years. During his tenure they did a lot of innovation in the
industry with ink jet addressing and messages, postal presorts, and building a
multimillion dollar software development business for the company. Brian also
got out to California as a sales representative which allowed him to solidify
his ongoing relationship with Coach Wooden and gave him the opportunity to
actually use his Pauley Pavilion season tickets.
Brian met his wife Linda at Donnelley and they have one son David, who along
with his wife Kristie, gave the Burmeisters their first grandchild, Makayla,
now approaching her third birthday. Among Brian's best friends, outside
of the Hoop Historians, include Tom Desotell, Sheboygan (WI) North Coach and
one of Wooden's favorites; and Roland Hemond; former General Manager for the
Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox. Just this past month Brian had
the opportunity to get both Hemond and Wooden together for their first ever
meeting (as featured in the February edition of the Hoop Historian News).
Other friends in the college hoop profession include Steve Lavin, Mark
Gottfried, Jim Harrick, Mike Warren and Larry Farmer from the UCLA side; and
Ray Meyer and Tyrone Corbin from the DePaul heydays. Outside of sports, he
considers two most notable friends as politicians Adlai Stevenson and Charles
Schulz. Adlai was a family friend from the Libertyville days and Schulz
became and Brian friends after a late 1960's visit.
Recently retired from Donnelly, Brian still works on software ventures, enjoys
working out with bike riding along the Fox River, walking, golfing, the
cinema, reading and college sports. To this day college hoops still remain a
passion. This season Brian recently saw UCLA beat Washington at Pauley
Pavilion, Alabama play at Wisconsin and Illinois break the Badgers
38-game home court win streak in Madison. This April will be "The
Dean's" 42nd Final Four -- and 39th in succession. After thousands of
sports contests attended, Brian ranks his favorite game as an easy answer; a
UCLA victory against Louisville in the 1975 NCAA Championship Semi-Finals in
San Diego -- and Brian is still looking for a tape of that game!