A four-year basketball letterman, Birkel played in 105 career games with 40 starts. The 6'9" center led the team in blocked shots four straight years. He finished his career with 382 points, 264 rebounds, 46 assists and 72 blocked shots.

As a senior, he shared the conference's Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete award and served as a team captain. As a freshman, he received the team's Most Outstanding First-Year Player award and also the team field goal percentage award. He was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma, Alpha Lambda Delta and the math honor societies. He was the men's basketball rep to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and a member of the Actuarial Club. He was an actuarial intern for St. Paul Travelers last summer and will take a job with that company after he graduates in December. He is a mathematics major with a 3.41 GPA.

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