AIC Director Of Athletics Robert Burke Announces Retirement

AIC DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS ROBERT BURKE ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

            SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 19, 2006) - Robert E. Burke, Director of Athletics at American International College since 1986, has announced his retirement from the College effective at the end of the current academic year, May 31, 2006.  Burke's retirement from AIC ends a 38-year association with the College's athletic department.  The announcement was made at a press conference Wednesday morning.

            Burke's time at the College began in 1968 when he was hired as an assistant football coach under Gayton Salvucci after a stint as the head football coach at Springfield's Cathedral High School.  He was named head coach of the Yellow Jackets in 1976 and compiled a record of 36-28-2 over seven seasons, including a record of 8-2 in 1980.

            Burke then served as Associate Athletic Director for three years before being named Director of Athletics by former AIC president Harry J. Courniotes in 1986.  Over his 20-year tenure, the AIC athletic department has added several sports, including men's and women's lacrosse, wrestling and field hockey, while enjoying numerous successes at the regional and national levels.

            Under his watch, the football team captured back-to-back Eastern Football Conference championships in 1999 and 2000 while advancing to the conference title game four straight years.  The women's basketball team has captured a pair of Northeast Regional championships over the last five years and advanced to the Division II national championship game this March.  The softball team captured back-to-back Northeast Region titles in 1996 and 1997 and has been a mainstay in postseason play, while the baseball team advanced to the Division II College World Series in 1991.  The ice hockey team also elevated itself to the Division I level during Burke's tenure prior to the 1998-99 season.

            In addition, Burke oversaw the expansion of the College's athletic facilities when construction was completed on the $3.0 million Metcalf Gymnasium in 2000, which also included the John and Nancy O'Donnell Hall of Fame.  The College's Athletic Hall of Fame was founded last year with 10 inaugural inductees joining four charter members of the Hall in April, 2005.

            Burke, who was recently named to the inaugural class of the Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Fame, served as the Northeast-10 Commissioner from 1989 to 1995 and again during the 1997-98 academic year.  He also served as the president of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) in 1994, and has served for many years as the chairman of the Springfield Tip-Off Classic Committee, which hosts the annual college basketball Tip-Off Classic in the city.  Burke was also instrumental in the return of the NCAA Division II men's basketball "Elite Eight" to Springfield after a 12-year hiatus this March.

            Burke has served on numerous NCAA committees during his tenure, including the regional football and basketball committees in recent years.  A member of the NCAA National Youth Sports Program Committee, Burke and AIC have been honored numerous times for the program held at the College in the summer.

            During his tenure, Burke has received countless awards for his work in college athletics.  He was honored by the All-American Football Foundation in 2000 with the General Robert R. Neyland Athletic Director Award, and in 2005 he received the Butova Award, named after former AIC Director of Athletics Henry Butova, from the Western Massachusetts Football Foundation.

            A native of Holyoke, Mass., Burke earned his bachelor's degree in Physical Education from the University of Massachusetts in 1965.  At UMass, Burke was a member of the most recent undefeated football team in school history when the then-Redmen went 8-0-1 in 1963.  He went on to earn All-Yankee Conference First Team honors as an offensive tackle as a senior.  Burke would attain his Master's in Education from American International in 1974 while later earning a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Administration from the College.

            Burke currently resides in Monson, Mass. with his wife Andrea.