John U. Bacon is an American journalist and author of books on sports and business as well as a sports commentator on TV and radio.

Background

After graduating from Huron High School, Bacon earned a bachelor's degree in History and a master's degree in Education from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. His first journalism job was as a lifestyle reporter for ''

The Ann Arbor News ''The Ann Arbor News'' is a newspaper serving Washtenaw and Livingston counties in Michigan. Published daily online through MLive.com, the paper also publishes print editions on Thursdays and Sundays. History Original publication Published in An ...

'' in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

. In 1995, Bacon became a sports feature writer for ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Februa ...

''. During this period, he wrote articles on

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

, the sport of

bullfighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...

, and high school

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

at a

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

Native American reservation in Michigan. In 1998, Bacon traveled to

Nagano, Japan Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Univer ...

to cover the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

for ''The Detroit News''. After the Olympics, Bacon left ''The Detroit News'' to become a

freelance writer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

. He has written articles for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', and ''

ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...

''. In 2000, Bacon started his radio career with a sports show on

WAAM WAAM is a radio station in Ann Arbor, Michigan, known as "WAAM TALK 1600" and "WAAM RADIO". The station is owned by Coolarity A2, LLC. The station operates at a maximum power of 5,000 watts at a frequency of 1600 kHz using a seven-tower direct ...

in Ann Arbor. In 2002, he started a radio show, Off the Field, on

WTKA WTKA (1050 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Ann Arbor, Michigan, known as "The Ticket." It broadcasts a sports radio format and is owned by Cumulus Media. The studios and offices are on Victors Way in Ann Arbor. By day, WTKA is powered ...

in Ann Arbor. In 2007, Bacon began providing weekly

sports commentary In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

on Michigan public television stations. In 2005, Bacon was awarded a

Knight-Wallace Fellowship The Knight-Wallace Fellowship (previously known as the NEH Journalism Fellowship and the Michigan Journalism Fellowship) is an award given to accomplished journalists at the University of Michigan. Knight-Wallace Fellowships are awarded to reporte ...

for journalism from the University of Michigan.

Books

Bacon is the author of thirteen books on sports, business, health, and history, including: * ''Blue Ice: The Story of Michigan Hockey''. University of Michigan Press, 2001. * ''America's Corner Store:

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, an ...

' Prescription For Success.'' John Wiley & Sons, 2004. Hoboken, N.J. * ''Cirque du Soleil, The Spark: Igniting the Creative Fire that Lives Within Us All.'' Doubleday, 2006''. A''bout

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

. * ''Bo's Lasting Lessons, The Legendary Coach Teaches the Timeless Fundamentals of Leadership,'' with former Michigan football coach

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...

. Hachette, 2007. The book includes chapters on

Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University (1946–1948), Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (1949–1950), and Ohio State University (1951 ...

Dave Brandon David Allen Brandon (born May 15, 1952) is an American businessman. He is the former chief executive officer of Toys "R" Us. From 1999 to 2009, he served as the president and chief executive officer of Domino's, and from 2010 to 2014, he was th ...

, Jim Hackett and Brad Bates. * ''Three and Out:

Rich Rodriguez Richard Alan Rodriguez (; born May 24, 1963), also known as Rich Rod, is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Jacksonville State University. Rodriguez previously was the head football coach at Salem Uni ...

and the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

in the Crucible of College Football''. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2011. Some of the players Bacon followed include

Brandon Graham Brandon Lee Graham (born April 3, 1988) is an American football defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft with the thirteenth selection ...

Denard Robinson Denard Xavier Robinson (born September 22, 1990) is currently the Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the University of Michigan football program. Robinson is also a former American football running back who played for four seasons in th ...

and Michael Martin, and strength coach Mike Barwis. * ''Fourth and Long: The Fight for the Soul of College Football''. Simon & Schuster, 2013. Explores college football, and the Big Ten, particularly the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

football programs. Penn State's Bill O'Brien,

Michael Mauti Michael D. Mauti (born January 19, 1990) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn State and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft. H ...

and Michael Zordich are some of the heroes of the story * ''Endzone: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Michigan Football''. St. Martin’s Press, 2015. Covers

's tenure as athletic director and

Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...

's arrival. * ''Playing Hurt: My Journey from Despair to Hope''. Da Capo Press, 2017. Written as a memoir with John Saunders and published after Saunders' death. * ''The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism.'' HarperCollins, 2017. * ''The Best of Bacon: Select Cuts.'' University of Michigan Press, 2018. * ''Overtime: Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines at the Crossroads of College Football.'' HarperCollins, 2019. * ''Let Them Lead: Unexpected Lessons in Leadership from America's Worst High School Hockey Team.'' Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021. * ''The Greatest Comeback: How Team Canada Fought Back, Took the Summit Series, and Reinvented Hockey''. HarperCollins Canada, 2022. ''Three and Out'', ''Fourth and Long'' and ''Endzone'' have been New York Times bestsellers.

Media appearances

Bacon provides weekly sports commentary for

Michigan Radio Michigan Radio is a radio network, network of five FM broadcasting, FM public radio stations operated by the University of Michigan through its broadcasting arm, Michigan Public Media. The network is a founding member of National Public Radio and ...

and appears often on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and the

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs, ...

, among other networks. In 2015, his radio essay won first prize in th
Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI)
awards. Bacon has been a guest on

's quiz shows '' Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!'' and
Ask Me Another
'. Bacon gives speeches for corporations and other organizations, including three

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

talks, another to receive the Golden Apple Award, and th
Knight-Wallace Fellows
Program's Hovey Lecture.

Academia

Bacon teaches at the

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and at the University of Michigan. In 2009, Michigan students awarded him the

Golden Apple Award The Golden Apple Award (1941–2001) was an American award presented to entertainers by the Hollywood Women's Press Club, usually in recognition of behavior rather than performance. History The award was presented from 1941 until 2001, when the H ...

for excellence in teaching. In 2019, Bacon taught a class on Teaching and Coaching at the

University of Michigan School of Education The University of Michigan School of Education is the education school of the University of Michigan and is located in Ann Arbor, MI (the University of Michigan–Dearborn and the University of Michigan-Flint, while technically connected to the m ...

. Bacon coached the

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

team of his alma mater, Huron High School, from 2000 to 2004. He led the team from its worst to its best record in school history in three years. In 2007, Bacon was inducted into the River Rat Hall of Fame. In 2019, Bacon appointed by Gov.

Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previ ...

to the

Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

Board of Trustees

Personal life

Bacon is married to the former Christie Breitner, and they have one son.McKee, Jenn (2015) "Ann Arbor's John U. Bacon talks about his next book, his (growing) family and more" ''Mlive'

/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, John U Year of birth missing (living people) American male sportswriters American sports announcers University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Living people University of Michigan fellows University of Michigan School of Education alumni