John Beilein - Personal Life

Personal Life

Beilein has been married to Kathleen Beilein for 31 years. They have three sons (Patrick, who played for his father at WVU; Mark, a former football player at Richmond and WVU grad; and Andy, who is enrolled in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan) and a daughter (Seana Hendricks). Patrick, who was the 2002 Virginia Independent Schools Division I Player of the Year, had intended to play at Richmond with his father, and instead went to West Virginia when his father moved there. Patrick was a 2008–2009 season graduate assistant coach at University of Michigan, and he continues to serve in that role.

When Patrick was a highly recruited high school basketball player, John was restricted by NCAA rules from some normal behaviors regarding his son, such as giving his son's teammates a ride home from practice, talking with his son at a basketball camp or discussing his son's abilities with news media, because the interactions of college coaches with recruits are restricted. The relevant NCAA rules for recruiting (Bylaw article 13) are quite extensive. Beilein had to follow recruiting rules when visiting his son at a basketball camp. According to rule 13.12.1.3 coaches wishing to attend a camp as observers must comply with appropriate recruiting contact and evaluation periods. According to 13.02.3, a contact includes any face-to-face encounter between a prospective student-athlete . . . and an institutional staff member or athletics representative during which any dialogue occurs in excess of an exchange of a greeting. In short, talking to coaches not employed by a camp is not allowed during the camp, which left Beilein unable to offer his son milk money.