University of Minnesota Athletics
Mike Bailey Gives Back to Gopher Baseball
1/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Gopher Baseball has produced 31 Major Leagues on the field, but off the field the program has produced countless success stories who have contributed locally and nationally to their respective employers and communities.
In the fall of 1974, Mike Bailey arrived on the campus of the University of Minnesota as a three-sport standout from John Marshall High School in Rochester, Minn. Bailey was armed with a great deal of talent and the work ethic to perform at a high level. He used both not only to achieve athletic success but also to build an impressive business career as an executive with Jostens.
Bailey arrived at the university during a time in which the baseball program had a surplus of talent. In 1975, Bailey and future head coach John Anderson found themselves battling for spots on the pitching staff with such Gopher greats as Steve Comer, Dan Morgan and Jerry Ujdur during the span of their careers. That was when both Anderson and Bailey realized their success would most likely lie in another avenue of life. Their decisions would affect two major institutions in the state of Minnesota.
“In my time with the Gopher Baseball program, I learned a lot of lessons that helped me later in life and throughout my business career,” said Bailey. “I had been a standout in three different sports in high school entering the program, but once I arrived on campus and started playing with the team I realized that there were a lot of really talented players on the roster. During the process of realizing and frankly struggling to have individual success, I learned how important it was to be part of a team and get everyone on the same page to achieve the same level of success. Those were the kind of things that helped me down road when I got into the business world.”
Bailey did make two appearances spanning 6.1 innings during the 1977 season which saw the Gophers make their last appearance in the College World Series. However, at that point Bailey’s aspirations were in the classroom with an eye toward medical school. During his time at the University of Minnesota, Bailey had majored in Psychology and he had begun applying to medical school in his senior year. Much to his frustration, and to the benefit of Jostens, Bailey could not get accepted to the medical schools he applied to.
“I like to joke that not many people can say getting rejected to medical School is their biggest career break,” said Bailey.
The last six months of his senior season, Bailey was frustrated that he did not get more consideration for medical school. After that process, Bailey turned his sites to a new career. He thought about going into coaching or teaching, but he had some friends who recommended sales. In June of 1978, he was hired as a sales trainee at Jostens, a move which set his career in motion. Anderson states that Jostens knew what they were getting and handpicked Bailey to groom him as someone who would have long-term success in the organization.
“Mike was a good student and Williams’ Scholar,” said Anderson. “Jostens plucked him right out of school with the idea that he was someone they would move along on the fast track. They moved him to different parts of the country in different areas and named him CEO in 2004. It is pretty neat to have watched his career path, and we have often talked about the fact that both of us worked for the same organization our entire career. That is pretty rare in this day and age.”
Bailey spent six years as a sales representative in Rochester, Minn., then was named a Regional Sales Manager in Denver for several years. In 1987, he moved back to the Twin Cities and had a number of management roles at Jostens until 2004 when he was named the CEO of the company.
“I felt like I was well-prepared to take the position at that time,” said Bailey. “However, you also realize there are a lot of people depending on you to lead the organization and make the right decisions to create opportunities for employees, sales people and customers. For me that was the biggest challenge, and it was extremely humbling to receive the opportunity.”
The parallels in Anderson’s and Bailey’s careers are appreciated by both of them. Anderson took over the Gopher Baseball program in 1982 after serving as an assistant coach from 1979-81 under George Thomas and having been a student assistant and graduate assistant coach under Dick Siebert. Both found themselves in positions where they were in a leadership role in organizations that have had great long-term success in the state of Minnesota. Jostens was established in 1897 in Owatonna, Minn. and grew into a big business in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Gopher Baseball program played its first contest in 1876 and put itself on the map with national titles in 1956, 1960 and 1964 under Siebert.
“I always felt like it was a real important responsibility to be the CEO at Jostens, not unlike what John is doing at the University of Minnesota,” said Bailey. “Jostens is a great company with a long history of success, similar to Gopher Baseball. Both of us were given the opportunities to be stewards of our respective organizations and keep growing and moving forward. That is something that in my mind John has done an excellent job with the Gopher Baseball program.”
On May 18, the Pohlad Family donated $2 million toward Siebert Field renovation project to jumpstart the campaign. Over the summer, Bailey worked with the Golden Gopher Fund to do his part in helping the baseball program. He finalized an agreement to donate $200,000 to the Siebert Field renovation project over the course of the next five years.
“I think the program and the whole experience of intercollegiate athletic is just fabulous,” said Bailey. “There are so many things you can learn and do beyond the accomplishments on the field. I also have a lot of admiration for John Anderson. I continue to stay involved and am always impressed with the way he operates the program.”
Bailey went on to talk about how much the University of Minnesota still means to him. Despite the fact he lives in Arizona, he continues to follow all Gopher Athletics on the Big Ten Network, attended the 2008 and 2009 Insight Bowls and consistently makes it back with his family to attend Gopher baseball, basketball, football and hockey games.
“The university means a lot to me,” said Bailey. “I am not only a big fan of Gopher Baseball, but I try to get back for three or four football games during year, I have season tickets to hockey and still follow all the different sports. It is a great family activity. I feel like the shared memories of going to these events are great, and it is also a great way to remember my initial time as a student-athlete at the University of Minnesota.”
Bailey’s love for Gopher Athletics is another trait he shares with Anderson. It is a trait that both men have worked hard to pass down to future generations of Gopher baseball players and other student-athletes. Anderson appreciates Bailey’s financial support, but his gift also sends an important message to future Golden Gopher student-athletes.
“I really feel like it speaks to his feelings about the University of Minnesota and what a great place it is,” said Anderson. “I think Mike realizes how much his four years here affected his career and the doors it opened for him. He has always been someone who felt he owed the university something, and he has been big on helping our program continue to develop future leaders. He understands how baseball can help prepare people for leadership experiences later on in life. His gift makes a big difference. It will help our program develop future champions, and it is a good example to others in terms of giving back to the people that you feel helped shape your journey of being successful.”
Both Anderson and Bailey continue to be great examples of the Gopher Baseball program’s motto of preparing its student-athletes for the next 50 years of their lives.
In the fall of 1974, Mike Bailey arrived on the campus of the University of Minnesota as a three-sport standout from John Marshall High School in Rochester, Minn. Bailey was armed with a great deal of talent and the work ethic to perform at a high level. He used both not only to achieve athletic success but also to build an impressive business career as an executive with Jostens.
Bailey arrived at the university during a time in which the baseball program had a surplus of talent. In 1975, Bailey and future head coach John Anderson found themselves battling for spots on the pitching staff with such Gopher greats as Steve Comer, Dan Morgan and Jerry Ujdur during the span of their careers. That was when both Anderson and Bailey realized their success would most likely lie in another avenue of life. Their decisions would affect two major institutions in the state of Minnesota.
“In my time with the Gopher Baseball program, I learned a lot of lessons that helped me later in life and throughout my business career,” said Bailey. “I had been a standout in three different sports in high school entering the program, but once I arrived on campus and started playing with the team I realized that there were a lot of really talented players on the roster. During the process of realizing and frankly struggling to have individual success, I learned how important it was to be part of a team and get everyone on the same page to achieve the same level of success. Those were the kind of things that helped me down road when I got into the business world.”
Bailey did make two appearances spanning 6.1 innings during the 1977 season which saw the Gophers make their last appearance in the College World Series. However, at that point Bailey’s aspirations were in the classroom with an eye toward medical school. During his time at the University of Minnesota, Bailey had majored in Psychology and he had begun applying to medical school in his senior year. Much to his frustration, and to the benefit of Jostens, Bailey could not get accepted to the medical schools he applied to.
“I like to joke that not many people can say getting rejected to medical School is their biggest career break,” said Bailey.
The last six months of his senior season, Bailey was frustrated that he did not get more consideration for medical school. After that process, Bailey turned his sites to a new career. He thought about going into coaching or teaching, but he had some friends who recommended sales. In June of 1978, he was hired as a sales trainee at Jostens, a move which set his career in motion. Anderson states that Jostens knew what they were getting and handpicked Bailey to groom him as someone who would have long-term success in the organization.
“Mike was a good student and Williams’ Scholar,” said Anderson. “Jostens plucked him right out of school with the idea that he was someone they would move along on the fast track. They moved him to different parts of the country in different areas and named him CEO in 2004. It is pretty neat to have watched his career path, and we have often talked about the fact that both of us worked for the same organization our entire career. That is pretty rare in this day and age.”
Bailey spent six years as a sales representative in Rochester, Minn., then was named a Regional Sales Manager in Denver for several years. In 1987, he moved back to the Twin Cities and had a number of management roles at Jostens until 2004 when he was named the CEO of the company.
“I felt like I was well-prepared to take the position at that time,” said Bailey. “However, you also realize there are a lot of people depending on you to lead the organization and make the right decisions to create opportunities for employees, sales people and customers. For me that was the biggest challenge, and it was extremely humbling to receive the opportunity.”
The parallels in Anderson’s and Bailey’s careers are appreciated by both of them. Anderson took over the Gopher Baseball program in 1982 after serving as an assistant coach from 1979-81 under George Thomas and having been a student assistant and graduate assistant coach under Dick Siebert. Both found themselves in positions where they were in a leadership role in organizations that have had great long-term success in the state of Minnesota. Jostens was established in 1897 in Owatonna, Minn. and grew into a big business in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Gopher Baseball program played its first contest in 1876 and put itself on the map with national titles in 1956, 1960 and 1964 under Siebert.
“I always felt like it was a real important responsibility to be the CEO at Jostens, not unlike what John is doing at the University of Minnesota,” said Bailey. “Jostens is a great company with a long history of success, similar to Gopher Baseball. Both of us were given the opportunities to be stewards of our respective organizations and keep growing and moving forward. That is something that in my mind John has done an excellent job with the Gopher Baseball program.”
On May 18, the Pohlad Family donated $2 million toward Siebert Field renovation project to jumpstart the campaign. Over the summer, Bailey worked with the Golden Gopher Fund to do his part in helping the baseball program. He finalized an agreement to donate $200,000 to the Siebert Field renovation project over the course of the next five years.
“I think the program and the whole experience of intercollegiate athletic is just fabulous,” said Bailey. “There are so many things you can learn and do beyond the accomplishments on the field. I also have a lot of admiration for John Anderson. I continue to stay involved and am always impressed with the way he operates the program.”
Bailey went on to talk about how much the University of Minnesota still means to him. Despite the fact he lives in Arizona, he continues to follow all Gopher Athletics on the Big Ten Network, attended the 2008 and 2009 Insight Bowls and consistently makes it back with his family to attend Gopher baseball, basketball, football and hockey games.
“The university means a lot to me,” said Bailey. “I am not only a big fan of Gopher Baseball, but I try to get back for three or four football games during year, I have season tickets to hockey and still follow all the different sports. It is a great family activity. I feel like the shared memories of going to these events are great, and it is also a great way to remember my initial time as a student-athlete at the University of Minnesota.”
Bailey’s love for Gopher Athletics is another trait he shares with Anderson. It is a trait that both men have worked hard to pass down to future generations of Gopher baseball players and other student-athletes. Anderson appreciates Bailey’s financial support, but his gift also sends an important message to future Golden Gopher student-athletes.
“I really feel like it speaks to his feelings about the University of Minnesota and what a great place it is,” said Anderson. “I think Mike realizes how much his four years here affected his career and the doors it opened for him. He has always been someone who felt he owed the university something, and he has been big on helping our program continue to develop future leaders. He understands how baseball can help prepare people for leadership experiences later on in life. His gift makes a big difference. It will help our program develop future champions, and it is a good example to others in terms of giving back to the people that you feel helped shape your journey of being successful.”
Both Anderson and Bailey continue to be great examples of the Gopher Baseball program’s motto of preparing its student-athletes for the next 50 years of their lives.
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