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Rick Majerus was born on February 17, 1948 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Majerus is something of a fan favorite and cult figure around college basketball, known for being overweight and his quirky, jovial personality. He has had several heart attacks, and suffers from diabetes, but is still sometimes speculated to be in consideration by college programs in need of a coach. He was rumored to be a leading candidate for the Iowa Hawkeyes vacancy in 2007, but issued a statement to deny that.

Majerus attended Marquette University, where he played as a walk-on in the 1967 season, but was cut from the team before his sophomore year. He graduated in 1970 with a degree in History, and would work as an assistant coach with the Warriors for the next 12 years. He worked under mentor Al McGuire until 1977, and under Hank Raymonds until taking over as head coach himself in 1983.

After three years as head coach at Marquette, and a 56-35 record, he became an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks for the 1986-87 season.

He coached at Ball State during the 1987-88 and 88-89 seasons, finishing with a record of 43-17. He lead Utah to the Final Four in 1998, eventually losing to Kentucky in the National Championship Game.

In 2004, Majerus was hired as coach of the University of Southern California basketball team. However, just days after being hired, he changed his mind, and hadn't been in coaching since. He now works as a commentator for ESPN.

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Tournament Finish Rank# Marquette Warriors (1983-1986) 1983-84 Marquette 17-13 NIT Second Round 1984-85 Marquette 20-11 NIT Third Round 1985-86 Marquette 19-11 NIT Second Round At Marquette 56-35

Ball State Cardinals (Mid-American Conference) (1987-1989) 1987-88 Ball State 14-14 8-8 1988-89 Ball State 29-3 14-2 1 NCAA Second Round At Ball State 43-17

Utah Utes (Western Athletic Conference) (1989-1999) 1989-90 Utah* 4-2 1990-91 Utah 30-4 15-1 1 NCAA Sweet Sixteen #10 1991-92 Utah 24-11 9-7 4-T NIT Third Place 1992-93 Utah 24-7 15-3 1-T NCAA Second Round #16 1993-94 Utah 14-14 8-10 5-T 1994-95 Utah 28-6 15-3 1 NCAA Second Round #22 1995-96 Utah 27-7 15-3 1 NCAA Sweet Sixteen #12 1996-97 Utah 29-4 15-1 1 NCAA Elite Eight #6 1997-98 Utah 30-4 12-2 1 Mountain Division NCAA Runner Up #2 1998-99 Utah 28-5 14-0 1 NCAA Second Round #10

Utah Utes (Mountain West Conference) (1999-2004) 1999-00 Utah 23-9 10-4 1-T NCAA Second Round 2000-01 Utah 1-0 2001-02 Utah 21-9 10-4 2 NCAA First Round 2002-03 Utah 25-8 11-3 1-T NCAA Second Round 2003-04 Utah* 15-5 3-2 At Utah 323-95 Career 422-147 Italic Text

In 2000, he released an autobiography My Life On a Napkin : Pillow Mints, Playground Dreams and Coaching the Runnin' Utes, co-written by Gene Wojciechowski.