Members
Inductee
BURMAN, GEORGE R.
BURMAN, GEORGE R.
Born on December 1, 1943
Chicago, Illinois
Inducted On
May 5, 2025
Location Inducted
Merrillville, Indiana
Region Number
1
Whiting High School
Player
Whiting High School
1960
George graduated from Whiting High School in 1960 and was Salutatorian of his class. He played football, basketball and baseball. In his senior year he was voted Most Valuable Player in basketball, and for football he received the Tom Harmon Trophy "For Outstanding Qualities of Leadership, Team Spirit, and Scholastic Ability". In 2015 he returned to Whiting High School to present a Golden Football to the Athletic Department from the NFL commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl. The players presented George with a Green Whiting Oiler signed football which is displayed in his home office with the golden NFL football and other NFL memorabilia.
Northwestern University
Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering
1964
George was named an Academic All-American in football. In George's freshman year he played tackle in the fall and moved to end in the spring. He received his MBA in 1967 and his Ph. D. in Economics in 1973 from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago. While working on his master's and Ph. D. degrees, he simultaneously pursued a career in the National Football league from 1964 to 1973.
George and his wife, Janet reside in Syracuse, New York. Son Jonathan, a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, lives in Carmel, Indiana and works in Indianapolis. Daughter Jennifer, a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the medical school at Indiana University, works and resides in Carmel, Indiana. Son Douglas attended Elizabethtown College and lives and works in Syracuse. Professor Burman enjoys reading Native American history, skiing, motorcycling, and home renovation.
He played for the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams and was a member of the Washington Redskins team that took on the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VII. He became known as the first long snapper. After his retirement from the NFL, he was the Staff Economist for the NFL Players Association where he developed arguments against the Rozelle Rule that restricted the player's ability to negotiate their contract. he argued in favor of a free market for players. Negotiations with the NFL based on these arguments resulted in a free market for players that continues today.
He served on the faculty of Carnegie-Mellon University and was Assistant Dean of the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management from 1974 to 1976. He has been an expert witness in several court cases on economics of player markets in professional sports and on executive compensation. From 1976 to 1985, he held a variety of management positions with Gulf Oil Corporation in their oil and gas and minerals businesses. From 1985 to 1988, he was Manager of Planning and Analysis at Chevron Corporation in San Francisco, and from 1988 through 1990, he served as President and CEO of American Gilsonite, a Chevron subsidiary.
George became Dean of the business school at Syracuse University in 1990. Many key accomplishments took place during his 13 years as Dean. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International twice reaffirmed the school's accreditation. The school's programs expanded internationally and achieved national recognition for quality. The iMBA program became a top ranked online program. And the school broke ground for a new building in May 2003. In June 2003, the school became the Martin J. Whitman School of Management in recognition of Mr. Whitman's generosity.
Dr. Burman joined the Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises (EEE) Program, which he founded, as Professor of Entrepreneurship in July 2003. He served several years as Chair of the EEE Department, The Entrepreneurship Program has received numerous prestigious nation recognitions for its excellence. George retired from Syracuse University in August of 2014.