Golden Opportunities

From setting up athletic events as a Simpson student to interning with the Waterloo Bucks and now leading facilities and event operations for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, he has always chosen to lead by example.

“I always tell the students who work for us that I’m never going to ask them to do anything I haven’t done 100 times,” said Buresh. “There’s a lot of unsexy work that must be done and you just have to embrace it and have fun with it.”

The demands can be daunting for Buresh, who oversees operations for the women’s and men’s basketball facilities, as well as Huntington Bank Stadium — home of Gophers football. He says Simpson prepared him well to handle it all.

“Simpson taught me the leadership, organizational and time management skills that I use every day in my work. Overseeing operations is about so much more than preparing for and executing game day. At the Gophers football stadium, for example, we do 150-200 events a year, which requires constant flipping of spaces to get them ready. I’ve learned how to effectively balance and delegate tasks, and to be ready for anything.”

Every step of his journey has provided invaluable lessons. His interest in facilities and operations grew quickly during career stops at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and the University of North Carolina-Asheville. Since arriving at the University of Minnesota in 2014, he has flourished in a variety of leadership positions.

Buresh may live in the often unseen and underappreciated background of big-time athletics, but he truly relishes the lifelong relationships he has made and the chance to always be near the action.

“I’m just a small-town kid with a passion for athletics, who fell in love with operations and slowly moved my way up. Working for a(n) (NCAA) Power Four school or professional sports franchise is attainable for any Simpson graduate. You just have to work your tail off, make the right connections and stay the course — then good things will happen.”