Bill Russell to Keynote 8th Annual Celebrity/Scholarship Dinner
The Center for Marketing Research will host its annual Celebrity/Scholarship Dinner with Bill Russell as the guest of honor. Russell's stellar career as a five-time league MVP and 12-time All Star basketball player on the Boston Celtics, as well as his activism and strength of character off the court and in retirement, has made him a nationally known figure honored with numerous awards and accolades.
Details about the Dinner
Date
March 27th, 2008
5pm
VIP reception and book signing
$75/person.
6pm
Dinner, speech and book signing
$75/person, $750/table of 10.
Tickets
Ava Lescault, 508.910.6435, alescault@umassd.edu.
Bio from IMG
Living legend. Ground-breaker. American original.
On and off the basketball court, as both an athlete and a human being, Bill Russell defines the word “champion.” Sports Illustrated called him “the greatest team player on the greatest team of all time,” HBO Sports hailed him as “the greatest winner of the 20th century,” and former President Bill Clinton said simply, “We are a better nation for his honesty.”
He is the ultimate winner, with an unprecedented 18 championships in 21 years of basketball. His feats with the Boston Celtics are stamped in the record books: nine NBA championships as the Celtic’s captain between 1957 and 1967, including eight in a row, the longest streak of consecutive championships in U.S. sports history; plus two more championship as the team’s player-coach, which he accomplished without an assistant, in 1968 and 1969.
The heart and soul of the Celtics’ dynasty, as well as a five-time league MVP and 12-time All Star, he revolutionized basketball through his uncompromising defensive play, a style marked by ferocious athleticism, stunning analytic prowess, and an indomitable will to win -- attributes he began to hone at Oakland’s McClymonds High School, where he helped the basketball team capture three state championships. He guided the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956 (and was named the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 1955). He also captained the United States Olympic basketball team to the gold medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
In 1967, Bill was named the Celtics’ coach, a milestone that made him the first African-American coach not just in the NBA but in all major league sports. Already an aggressive advocate for civil rights, he marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in 1963 and attended his famous “I Have A Dream” speech the same year in Washington, D.C. In 2006, he participated in the ground-breaking ceremony for the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The NBA and U.S. State Department tapped him to serve as a Global Ambassador of Basketball on visits to Africa, where he was the first NBA player to visit in 1959. Twenty years later, he made his first trip to China. Altogether, he has hosted clinics in over 50 countries on six continents. For sharing his love of the game and zest for life, Bill received the NBA’s first Civil Rights Award.
“His record as basketball’s greatest winner will stand for many years, perhaps forever, but the attractive thing about Bill Russell is how he has worn his accomplishments,” said former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley. “That, even more than his achievements, makes him worthy of our admiration.”
Indeed, the same qualities and values that made him the ultimate team player – and the ultimate winner – have also motivated him off the court. He has authored three bestselling books, including Second Wind with Pulitzer Prize winner Taylor Branch and the more recent Russell’s Rules. He is a popular motivational speaker and has numerous corporate relationships, among them AT&T, Pfizer, and Reebok. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the National Mentoring Partnership.
Inspired by a passion for living, known for his integrity, compassion, humor and intellect, Bill once wrote, “life is a journey, not a destination,” and it’s a statement that continues to fuel his interests and activities today.
