Former football player inducted into Hall of Fame
Article by Tracy Dudley with photo provided by the Westen family
In September, the Athletics Department at Western Illinois University (WIU) selected local resident, Curt Westen, for induction into the school’s Hall of Fame. Westen played football for Western Illinois from 1978 to 1982 as an offensive lineman, at center. In addition to earning a letter his final three years, he also received Honorable Mention All-America from Associated Press and earned All-Conference honors. What is more, he also received much recognition for his work in the classroom.
“Westen was chosen Academic All-Conference and Academic All-American in 1981-82, earning a 4.0 GPA during the fall semester both years. During the 1981 season, he was named ‘Offensive Player of the Week’ six times by the coaching staff, and at the time was the only Leatherneck to receive All-Conference, All-American and Academic All-America honors in the same season,” according to the school’s September press release.
Not only did Westen receive his bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois, he also earned an MBA from the school the following year. In fact, he comes from a true WIU family. His father served as a football coach for the school in the 70s and has been a regular contributor to Leatherneck Athletics and the Western Illinois School of Business during the past 25 years. Westen’s brothers played football for and graduated from WIU. His wife’s father, mother, and two brothers also attended WIU, and Westen was actually football teammates with his eventual brother-in-law.
Westen went on to earn a Juris Doctor degree from California-Berkley Boalt Hall School of Law, and entered his career at a law firm in Chicago. During his career, he was appointed by the Governor to the State of Colorado’s Cooperative Healthcare Agreements Board, served on the board for the Children’s Burn Foundation in Los Angeles, and has delivered numerous industry speaking engagements on health care merger and acquisition activities.
Residing in Castle Pines Village and traveling often for work, Westen is currently a member of the executive management team for a portfolio company in Dallas, Texas. He and his wife Sue also own The Westen Group, a real estate development group in Denver. They have two sons, Zack and Dane (pictured above). Congratulatios Curt!
