CHARLESTON, Ill.—Barbara Burke, the deputy athletic director at the University of Wyoming, has been named athletic director at Eastern Illinois University, officials announced Friday.
Burke, who will start work July 1, joked at a news conference Friday that she hates to lose.
“I’m a horrible loser,” she said to laughter from the crowd. “You can ask my coaches about that right now.”
Burke, 49, has been deputy AD and senior women’s administrator at Wyoming since 2006. She oversaw strategic planning for the school’s athletic department and the day-to-day operations of its 17 sports teams.
At Eastern, Burke will oversee a 21-sport program. Her salary will be $144,000 a year under a contract that, once approved by Eastern’s board of trustees, is expected to last three years.
Burke said she will start work by drafting a strategic plan for the school’s sports programs and hiring a new head swimming coach. The position is vacant.
Hiring Burke ends a seven-month search. Eastern Illinois chose her over a field of candidates that included Drake Associate AD Jean Berger, former Iowa State Athletic Director Bruce Van De Velde and current Connecticut Associate AD Vaughn Williams.
“Barbara stood out as the top candidate in an extremely strong pool of candidates,” Eastern Illinois President William Perry said.
Burke will become the second woman to lead Eastern Illinois’ sports programs. Joan Schmidt was interim AD at the school in 1989.
A Michigan native, Burke has a bachelor of science degree from Western Michigan and a master of education degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Burke will replace Ken Baker, who became interim AD after the school fired Rich McDuffie last August. McDuffie was accused sexual harassment by an employee, though the school said it found no evidence to back the allegation.
