Robert James "Bob" Conrad Jr. (born May 17, 1958) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. He was the District's former Chief Judge (2006–2013) and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to take the place of the retired James Dickson Phillips Jr. He is a former member of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States (2016–2020). Conrad graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980. He received Clemson’s coveted “Norris Medal” as the outstanding undergraduate student, as well as being awarded the Atlantic Coast Conference’s “Jim Weaver” Postgraduate Scholarship as the ACC’s top all-around student athlete regardless of which sport. He attended the University of Virginia School of Law and earned a Juris Doctor in 1983. Early life Conrad was born on May 17, 1958 into an Irish-Catholic family and grew up on the west side of Chicago, Illinois. The Conrad family moved to Glen Ellyn, Illinois in 1967 where he was raised. He graduated from St. Petronille Elementary School in 1972, and Benet Academy High School in Lisle, Illinois in 1976. Conrad later graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980 and the University of Virginia School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1983. Athletic career Judge Conrad was born into a sports driven family. His father played Division I basketball at Loyola University New Orleans and competed in the NCAA tournament. He (1976) and his brother Kevin (1979) were named members of the Chicago Tribune Golden Basketball Team as one of the top high school basketball players in the Chicago area. Both went on to become Hall of Fame collegiate players at Clemson University and Dayton University respectively. Both were part of a Benet Academy High School basketball home court winning streak of over 100 consecutive games. Two of Conrad’s sons would play college basketball, Branden at the University of South Carolina and Ryan at Belmont Abbey College. In college, he was "the point guard in 1980 for what many consider Clemson's best basketball team ever. He was one of seven players who received votes for the Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year Award in 1979. Conrad finished his career ranked first in single season steals, second in career steals, first in