T.R. Bell grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University School of Milwaukee where he played soccer, hockey, and baseball all four years. He was an assistant captain on the state championship hockey team his senior season and he also helped lead the Bavarian Club soccer team to seven state titles.

Bell enrolled at Lake Forest College in the fall of 1992 and helped the Forester soccer team claim a conference championship that fall. He set a school record with 16 assists in as many contests as a sophomore, an assists-per-game average that tied for fourth in the nation that season and, at the time of his induction, still ranked among the top 20 in NCAA Division III history. Bell scored 13 goals and added six assists as a junior and was named first team all-conference and Lake Forest’s Most Valuable Player after the season. As a senior he captained the Foresters to another league title and a 17-1-0 record, the best mark in team history. That season he moved from forward to sweeper and still recorded eight goals and eight assists while repeating as a First Team All-Midwest Conference selection and team MVP. He is the program’s all-time leader with 35 career assists and finished fourth in team history with 91 points. The Foresters were 53-12-2 overall and 34-5-1 in league play during his four seasons. Bell also lettered four times for the Forester hockey team and finished his career with 19 points on seven goals and a dozen assists. He received the prestigious Nicholas J. Wasylik Senior Athletic Award in 1996.

Bell was selected to the Senior 25 (awarded to the 25 seniors who best represent Lake Forest College) and was the recipient of the Edward H. Oppenheimer Memorial Prize, given to the senior who has contributed the most to the College community. He majored in sociology and anthropology and graduated in 1996.

After working for a year in the Lake Forest College Office of Admissions, Bell began coaching the Forester women’s soccer team and soon became the winningest coach in program history. At the time of his induction, Bell had two league championships, two MWC Coach of the Year awards, an NCAA Tournament appearance, and more than 120 victories to his credit. He also spent time as an assistant coach for the men’s hockey and men’s tennis teams and was the first head women’s hockey coach in school history.