Discover Our Alumni
Illinois Entrepreneurs
Photo Credit: College of Business |
Jerry Colangelo Jerry Colangelo played basketball and baseball for the Fighting Illini. As a senior, he captained the Men’s Basketball team, earned All-Big Ten honors, and was later inducted into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame. After graduating in 1962 with a degree from what is now the College of Applied Health Sciences, Colangelo became one of the most influential personalities in professional sports. He spent two seasons with the Chicago Bulls working as marketing director, scout, and assistant to the team president. In 1968, he moved to Phoenix, AZ to lead the expansion Phoenix Suns NBA franchise as the youngest general manger in professional sports. Jerry Colangelo received an unprecedented four NBA Executive of the Year awards (1993, '89, '81, and '76); his tenure with one organization for over forty years is the longest in NBA history. In 1992, Colangelo became the founder and owner of the Arena Football League's Arizona Rattlers. Under his guidance, the Rattlers were a perennial playoff team and won two Arena Bowl championships in 1994 and 1997. Colangelo continued his involvement in professional sports in the Phoenix area in 1997, as a member on the founding committee for the WNBA, bringing the Phoenix Mercury to town as one of the league’s original eight teams. In 2005, Colangelo was named the managing director of USA Basketball Senior Men’s National Team. He also helped build the Olympic team that won the gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. |
