Delta Upsilon Alumni

Delta Upsilon Fraternity
Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois Alumni
Quick Facts


The Northern Illinois Chapter has initiated approximately 1100 men into Delta Upsilon in its fifty year history. The Alumni Chapter has addresses for approximately 80% of those initiated, a high percentage for organizations of this type. As one would expect, most of the alumni live in Illinois with the greatest concentration in the Chicago area. There are several hundred alumni brothers that have specifically expressed interest in actively supporting the undergraduate chapter. This number is increasing as the Chapter grows.

Several of our alumni having been awarded the "Alumnus of the Year" designation by either Northern Illinois University or one of its colleges.

The only two NIU athletes to be members of an Olympic team both came from Delta Upsilon.

They are:
Brother Breck Grigas, 1980. Gymnastics team alternate member, 1980 Olympics, and
Brother Bob Berland, 1984. Silver Medal in Judo at the 1984 Olympics.

Over thirty NIU Delta Upsilon alumni serve in over fifty appointed or elected Alumni Chapter offices, University alumni or Greek related offices, committee chairmanships, committee memberships, or advisory positions. Many hold graduate degrees, but most importantly, all are highly experienced in areas related to the offices they hold.

Many Delta Upsilon alumni are nationally or internationally renowned in their business or professional fields. A few are listed below, but the list could be significantly more extensive.

Brother Bryan Nelson, 1980. Brian is CEO of Microsoft's initial subsidiary in China and whose work in Asia, Europe, and elsewhere for Microsoft made him the poster child of how to do world business and make a profit. He has appeared in Time, Newsweek, and other publications.

Brother Doug Mennie, 1978 and Brother Bill Jones, 1979. Doug is President and Chief Operating Officer and Bill is Chairman of Cummins-Allison, a manufacturer of coin and currency processing equipment. Doug is an electro-mechanical genius with many patents related to coin and currency processing equipment. In this area of design and manufacturing Cummins-Allison is the premier company in the world and the only one in the United States. All other U.S. based companies have succumbed to foreign competition. Bill is the financial genius of the company, has served as Undergraduate Chapter President, has additional undergraduate work at the Sorbonne (University of Paris), Oxford University, and has an MBA from Northwestern University. He also won the Lincoln Laureate Medal (most outstanding student at NIU) and the NIU Delta Upsilon Brother of the Year Award. Cummins Allison employs a number of other Delta Upsilon brothers at various management levels.

Brother Paul Jones, 1976. Paul is the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board of the Glenview State Bank. It is one of the largest family owned banks in Illinois, with assets of over a billion dollars. Paul, and his brother Bill above, have mutual financial interests among family business concerns including the bank and Cummins Allison, but each controls their own major business. Paul was an NIU football player when in school, received the NIU Medal of Achievement in Banking also, was a Dean's List student many times, and served as Vice-President of the NIU Chapter. Paul is in great demand as a source of counsel to other banks and government agencies on how to run a highly successful bank, even in rough times. Brother Jones is an active member of the Board of Directors of the NIU Chapter Alumni Corporation. The Jones business interests have many non-family employees who are NIU DU alumni, most at the high management level.

Brother Mark Vancil, 1983. Mark is a journalist, publicist, and sports biographer whose clients include Mario Andretti and Ken Griffey, Jr. He does virtually all of Michael Jordan's biographical work and coined the term, "Air Jordan." Mark was a recipient of the Northern Illinois University Distinguished Alumnus Award. He is the owner of Rare Air Media.

Brother Darryl Silver, 1989. He served as the Executive Director of The Apprentice, The Survivors, and several other reality shows. Darryl was a recipient of the Northern Illinois University Distinguished Alumnus Award. He is the owner of the production house "The Idea Factory"

Brother Gordon Nuber, M.D., 1973. Gordon is Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Northwestern University Medical School. He is the physician for The Chicago Blackhawks and The Chicago Bears. He is a member of the NIU Athletic Hall of Fame and was a recipient of the Northern Illinois University Distinguished Alumnus Award. He has published over eighty medical journal articles, many on his main specialty of shoulder surgery.

Brother Nicholas Polito, D.D.S., 1978. Nick is one of less than two hundred worldwide accredited members of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry ("AACD"). He is also one of the five members of the Written Examination Board of the AACD. Nick was barely nineteen when he was graduated from NIU.

Brother Bruce Niemi, 1979. Bruce was an outstanding wrestler at NIU and had Olympic prospects until he was sidelined by injuries. He is the son of a sculptor and is one of the most acclaimed sculptors in contemporary America. His sculptures are displayed throughout the United States and select foreign countries. One of his greatest sculptures, "Living the Dream," sits on the grounds of the Barsema Alumni Center at NIU, a partial gift of Brother Bruce and Suzi Niemi. It is perhaps the most significant artwork on campus. Bruce was a recipient of the Northern Illinois University Distinguished Alumnus Award. He is owner of Niemi Sculpture Gallery.

As we continue to develop this website we will expand the list above with many current alumni brothers with equally significant achievements. This list will appear in the alumni section of the website and will be accessible to all.

Delta Upsilon Fraternity
Northern Illinois University

University, United States, and World Class
Athletic Honors

Northern Illinois University
Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

1986 Brother Jerry Zielinski, Basketball 1969-1972

1987 Brother Tom McKiernan, Captain
Brother Jerry Zielinski and Brother Gordon Nuber
The 1971-1972 Basketball Team

1988 Brother Mike Burke
Gymnastics 1975-1979, Co-Captain 1978-1979

1999 Brother Breck Grigas
Gymnastics 1977-1980

2000 Brother Kirk Mango
Gymnastics 1975-1979, Co-Captain 1978-1979

2001 Brother Gordon Nuber
Basketball 1969-1973, Captain 1972-1973


The Nissen Gymnastics Award
(Equivalent to the Heisman Trophy in Football)

1979 Brother Mike Burke, Runner-Up


The International Olympic Games

Moscow
1980

1980 Brother Breck Grigas
Alternate Member, United States Gymnastics Team
(Team not permitted to go to Moscow because of political boycott of the Olympic Games by the United States of America.)


Los Angeles
1984

1984 Brother Bob Berland
Silver Medal in Judo at 189.5 lbs.
(The only Olympic Medal ever won by an NIU student or graduate.)


U.S. National Wrestling Championships
Sombo Wrestling

1975 Brother Ross Papke
American Champion

1980 Brother Ross Papke
American Champion


World Wrestling Championships
Madrid, Spain 1979 and 1981
Sombo Wrestling

1979 Brother Ross Papke
Member of the American Team

1981 Brother Ross Papke
Captain of the American Team
Fourth Place

Note: Brother Papke took time off from his education for training and, consequently, needed about six years to graduate from Northern Illinois. He graduated in 1985. Sombo wrestling (sometimes called "Sambo" wrestling) is not "Sumo" wrestling. A Sombo wrestler has low body fat and is as muscular as any other wrestler is. Sombo is more closely related to the martial arts than traditional wrestling. It is a modern martial art combat sport and self-defense system developed in the Soviet Union.

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