Rob Pelinka - Education

Education

At Lake Forest High School, Pelinka became a starting basketball player as a junior during the 1986–87 season. College basketball regulations allow for two periods in which high school basketball players can make commitments to accept athletic scholarships during their senior years. The first period is in November and the second period is in April. As a result of his junior season athletic and academic performances, he was recruited during the first period by William & Mary, Navy, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Ivy League schools. The schools with traditionally stronger basketball programs largely ignored Pelinka, much to his dismay. His father sent out profiles to newspapers and colleges, and Pelinka decided to wait for the second off-campus recruiting and signing period. As his senior season progressed, top Division I basketball programs began to scout him for athletic scholarship offers. Immediately after his MVP basketball tournament performance in early January, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin became interested in recruiting him. The off-campus recruiting for the April signing period began on February 8. As the season progressed and Pelinka compiled all-star basketball statistics, the list of top basketball programs increased with schools such as Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame and North Carolina expressing interest in him by the time of the off-campus recruiting season. Pelinka hoped he would be able to sign with a Big Ten school. When Pelinka made his final decision in April 1988, he chose Michigan over Illinois.

Pelinka entered the Bachelor of Business Administration program at the School of Business Administration where he accumulated a 3.9/4.0 grade point average. During his time at Michigan, he developed a close relationship with University of Michigan tax law professor Doug Kahn and his wife. In January 1993, Pelinka announced he was accepted to the University of Michigan Law School and the Northwestern University School of Law and stated that he hoped to become a professional sports agent after his athletic and academic careers were complete. After Michigan won the 1993 NCAA West Regional Final, Pelinka, who was one of six finalists, flew to St. Louis, Missouri for a final interview for the Walter Byers Scholarship. Later that week, Pelinka was honored with the 1993 Walter Byers Scholar Award as the NCAA's top male scholar athlete. Pelinka earned a variety of other scholar athlete awards.

Instead of playing basketball in Europe, Pelinka chose to attend Michigan Law School after graduation and became a top law student. During his first year of law school, several of his former teammates appeared in Blue Chips: Billy Douglas (Lake Forest), Eric Anderson (Chicago All-star), and Demitrius Calip (Michigan). While in law school, he took several classes from Kahn. During his second year in law school, he became the home game color analyst for Wolverines basketball play-by-play announcer Chuck Swirsky on a 16-station broadcast network that originated from WJR-AM, and he debuted on December 22, 1994 during a game against Jackson State University. While in law school, he interned for Winston & Strawn LLP. Pelinka earned his Juris Doctor Cum Laude in 1996.