Steve Pankow standing at a Bulls game holding a basketball
Steve Pankow ’11 is one of several Redbirds with a "dream job" working for the NBA's Chicago Bulls.

Steve Pankow ’11 stands in the entryway to the Chicago Bulls equipment room deep inside the United Center holding a Nike Zoom Kobe 4 “Fade to Black” basketball shoe. There’s a five-inch gash above the shoe’s hard rubber midsole that Pankow wiggles four fingers through as part of an equipment manager’s postmortem examination. 

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Less than 24 hours earlier, the shoe was in fine working condition. It was on the left foot of Bulls guard Alex Caruso, who had helped engineer what was about to be a stunning upset of the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves. But late in the game as Caruso and company were putting the finishing touches on the win, the 2023 NBA All-Defensive First Team selection jumped to contest a shot from Minnesota all-star Anthony Edwards. Caruso landed awkwardly as the shoe exploded.

Pankow was among the first to realize what had happened. He sprang into action, sprinting 40 yards to the locker room to retrieve a backup pair of shoes.

“When something like that happens, it’s an adrenaline rush,” Pankow said. “Whether it’s blood on a jersey or a blown-out shoe, that’s what we prepare for, and that’s what gets me cranked up.”

Amid a late-season playoff push, Caruso couldn’t wait even the few seconds Pankow needed for the retrieval, instead finishing out the game wearing teammate Dalen Terry’s Adidas models. The Bulls won the game, 109-101.

Pankow recounts it all the next day at the mouth of the equipment room as the Bulls prepare for a game against the Atlanta Hawks that’s still a couple hours from tipoff. Bulls players and personnel coming from every direction squeeze past Pankow as they complete their pregame routines. Eventually Caruso arrives, puts his arm around Pankow, and laments the demise of his favorite pair of shoes. 

Pankow is the Bulls’ head equipment manager and team travel coordinator. At 6-foot-4, he’s as tall as some players but skinnier than all of them. A Sharpie marker clipped to the collar of his team-issued polo serves as his trademark piece of flair, indicating to fans who surround the team bus when the Bulls arrive in another NBA city or kids who line the tunnel when the team takes the court that Pankow is not one they’ll see on the court that night. 

He doesn’t play for the team, but he’s an integral part of it.

Pankow got his start in sports at Illinois State University after sending an email to then-head football coach Denver Johnson the summer before his freshman year asking Johnson if there was anything he could do for the team. That led to four years as a student manager, internships with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts, and a job with Navy athletics before a full-circle moment when he returned to Illinois State as a full-time equipment manager. 

Now in his “dream job,” Pankow travels full time with the Bulls, sits behind the bench, and loves every minute of it. He’s one of at least eight Illinois State alumni working full time for the NBA team. Though none of them are scoring points or dishing out assists, they form the team behind the team. Several of them got their starts in sports at Illinois State. 

“It’s different every day,” Pankow said. “That’s the part I love about it, and that’s what I think most people love about it.”


Steve Pankow holds a busted basketball shoe
Steve Pankow ’11 holds the failed shoe of Alex Caruso that spurred the veteran equipment manager into action the night before a home game against the Atlanta Hawks on April 1.
Steve Pankow hanging a jersey in the Bulls locker room
Steve Pankow ’11 hangs Alex Caruso’s jersey in the Bulls locker room before the game against the Hawks.
Beth Esler working at a Bulls postgame interview
Beth Esler ’10 is the Bulls’ director of basketball communications. She gained experience as a student intern with Illinois State Athletics Communications and was mentored by longtime Bulls’ head of public relations Tim Hallam ’77, who retired last year. Among Esler’s duties are moderating Bulls head coach Billy Donovan’s pre- and postgame press conferences. She travels full time with the team. “No day is ever the same, and no season is ever the same,” Esler says. “That’s what keeps me going.”
Carla De Lio working for the Chicago Bulls
Carla De Lio ’92 is executive assistant to President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf, who she followed to the Bulls 14 years ago after working with him in a previous business endeavor. “I feel really lucky because this wasn’t something I expected to be doing,” she says. “I never thought I’d be working for the Chicago Bulls.”
Jasmyn Mahone working for the Chicago Bulls
Jasmyn Mahone ’16 is in her seventh year working for the Bulls. She’s held a variety of human resources roles and is now a senior manager. “I like that my job plays a role in creating a positive culture in the workplace and elevating experiences for internal staff,” Mahone says. “I enjoy attracting and retaining top talent, creating an engaging environment, and making sure our staff has fun at work.”
Maya Brown working for the Chicago Bulls
Maya Brown ’20 landed her first job in sports as a student athletic trainer at Illinois State. She’s now a group sales account executive for the Bulls, managing groups ranging from as few as 15 to as many as 1,000. “It’s a lot of phone calls, a lot of meetings on game days, and showing clients all the different fan experience packages,” she says.
Yesenia Garcia working for the Chicago Bulls
Yesenia Garcia, M.S. ’16, is an account executive for season ticket services in her second year with the franchise. While most other Bulls employees focus on today, Garcia concentrates on tomorrow. Her job is making sure United Center seats are full for the 2024-25 season. “We’re already working on that!” she says, laughing.
Kyle Cummings working on the court for the Chicago Bulls
Kyle Cummings ’11 is senior manager of basketball programming. That includes a “Court of Dreams” youth clinic held before the Bulls’ game with the Hawks where he’s assisted by Bulls radio broadcasters Chuck Swirsky and Bill Wennington. “I love it,” says Cummings, a former student manager for the Illinois State men’s basketball team. “It’s the best job in the world.”
Danielle (Gombac) Finnerty on the court at a Bulls game
Danielle (Gombac) Finnerty ’15 got her start in athletics as a student intern with Illinois State Athletics Communications. She was one of the first five employees hired by the Windy City Bulls, the Chicago Bulls’ G League affiliate, nine years ago. She’s since held several roles with the NBA team and is now a manager of partnership marketing. “We have a very family-friendly culture here,” says Finnerty, who welcomed her first child in May. “I wake up every day excited to come to work.”
Listen to an interview with Steve Pankow ’11.