John U. Bacon has worked nearly three decades as a writer, a public speaker, and a college instructor, winning awards for all three.
Bacon earned an honors degree in history (“pre-unemployment”) from the University of Michigan in 1986, and a Master’s in Education in 1994. In 2005-06, the Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship named him the first recipient of the Benny Friedman Fellowship for Sports Journalism.
He has authored ten books on sports, business, health, and history, the last six of which are national bestsellers, including Bo’s Lasting Lessons, Endzone, and The Great Halifax Explosion.
Bacon has also pursued his passions for radio, television, coaching and teaching. In 2007 he was invited to give weekly sports commentary on Michigan Radio every Friday morning and appears weekly on Michigan Radio’s Stateside, and occasionally on National Public Radio, which awarded him the PRNDI prize for nation’s best commentary in 2014. He appears often on TV, including HBO, ESPN, Fox Business, MSNBC, and the Big Ten Network, where he is a frequent contributor to both “Icons” series.
Bacon has taught at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, and teaches at the University of Michigan, where the students selected him for the 2009 Golden Apple award, given annually to the University’s top teacher.
Bacon delivers speeches on the themes taken from his books, and coaching and teaching experiences — including leadership, diversity, motivating millennials, and creativity — to corporations, universities, and other groups around the country and the world.
Bacon is an average hockey player, a mediocre Spanish speaker, and a poor piano player – but this has not stopped him from enjoying all three. He lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and son.
Contributions from John U. Bacon
- Bacon: The UM-MSU football rivalry has a long history, both on and off the field
This Saturday, for the 112th time, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University will fight over a football for 60 minutes. During the year’s other 364 days, the two schools’ coaches, playe … - Bacon: A man with a weight-loss plan
On my 55th birthday this summer, I stepped on the scale and watched it top out at 205 pounds. Since I’m just 5'8", the Body-Mass Index scale put me in the “obese” category. Awesome. - Bacon: Michigan, MSU football paths diverge midseason
Michigan and Michigan State both entered this season ranked in the top twenty. Both have struggled on offense, and lost some games along the way. But by the end of October, their paths seemed to have … - Bacon: It's anyone's guess which Michigan team will show up against Notre Dame
The Michigan football team entered this season ranked 7th nationwide, and were picked to win the Big Ten title. With a lot of good players and coaches coming back from a 10-win team the year before, i … - Paying college athletes won't solve everything
This fall California Governor Gavin Newsome signed a law that will allow college athletes to sell their names, images, and likenesses to whoever wants to buy them. True, it’s just California, where on …