Steve Pankow ’11 is the Chicago Bulls’ head equipment manager and team travel coordinator. In this episode of Redbird Buzz, Pankow discusses his career path—from working with the Illinois State University football team as a student, to interning with two NFL teams, to working full-time for Redbird Athletics, to scoring his dream job with the Bulls.

A 2011 Illinois State graduate who majored in criminal justice sciences, Pankow is one of at least eight Redbird alumni employed by the Bulls. In this interview, Pankow talks about how his experience at Illinois State prepared him to become an integral member of the staff that supports Chicago through its 82-game NBA regular season and beyond.

Pankow is featured in the fall 2024 issue of State magazine.

Redbird Buzz is available on SpotifyApple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. Transcripts of each episode are available online at Alumni.IllinoisState.edu/Podcast.