Hall of Fame
A native of Rome, Ga., Mike Glenn becomes just the second Saluki men’s basketball player to enter the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame, joining Walt Frazier, and is the eighth overall inductee for Southern Illinois University.
The Salukis third all-time leading scorer (1,878 points), Glenn was a two-time first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 1976 and 1977.
He earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors in 1976 and was also a two-time first-team Academic All-American (1976 and 1977), including being the nation’s top vote-getter on the Academic All-American ballot in 1977.
Glenn played 10 seasons (1977-1987) in the NBA as a member of the Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, and Milwaukee Bucks.
Drafted 23rd overall by the Chicago Bulls in 1977, Glenn broke his neck in an offseason auto accident and was released from the team. He made a quick recovery, though, starting his NBA career later that same year with the Buffalo Braves.
In 1981, Glenn received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for community service.
Since retiring as a basketball player, Glenn has worked as a television analyst, writer, and commissioner of the World Basketball Association.
Because of his business background, Glenn was also employed in the early 1990s by Merrill Lynch as a consultant for the NBA’s pre-pension plan.
He currently runs the Mike Glenn All-Star Basketball Camp for the Hearing-Impaired, which is the nation’s first basketball camp for deaf athletes and is offered every summer, free of charge, to as many as 120 deaf athletes from across the country. He has conducted this non-profit camp for 35 years.
Glenn worked as the Atlanta Hawks’ color commentator on SportSouth and FSN from 1992-2005, and now serves as analyst on Hawks Live, a pre-game and post-game show on FSN South.
In addition to his basketball-related work, Glenn is also an avid collector of collector of literary documents of American and African-American history and culture. With information from his library, he has written five books including his latest, My Next Shot Goes in: Ten Sacred Characteristics of NBA Players that lead to Success.
Glenn is also a motivational speaker.