John U. Bacon

John U. Bacon has worked more than two decades as a writer, speaker, radio commentator, college teacher and hockey coach, winning awards for all five.

A graduate of the University of Michigan, Bacon wrote feature stories for The Detroit News, earning national honors, before leaving to free-lance for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others. He has written eight books on sports and business, including Walgreens: America’s Corner Store, Cirque du Soleil: The Spark, Bo’s Lasting Lessons: The Legendary Coach Teaches the Timeless Fundamentals of Leadership, which hit The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal’s Business Best Seller lists. He then wrote a trio of books covering big-time college football from the inside: Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football, Fourth and Long:The Fight for the Soul of College Football, Endzone: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Michigan Football. All three were New York Times bestsellers.

Bacon delivers speeches on leadership, creativity, and diversity across the country, and the world. In 2011, the Michigan Chapter of Meeting Planners International (MMPI) named him “Speaker of the Year.”

Bacon also provides weekly commentaries for Michigan Radio, winning first place in the Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRINDI) competition in 2015, out of 1,100 entries nationwide. He frequently provides commentary for NPR’s “Morning Edition,” and “Here & Now,” and he has been a guest on NPR’s popular game shows, “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!” and “Ask Me Another.” He also appears on HBO, ESPN, Fox Business, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, and the Big Ten Network.

Bacon teaches at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, where the students awarded him the Golden Apple in 2009, given annually to a “truly exceptional teacher.” He is a decent Spanish speaker, an average hockey player and a poor piano player, but still enjoys all three.