E-mail Coach Burke (rwb24@cornell.edu)
Rob Burke, a native of Montreal, enters his third year as an assistant coach at Cornell and sixth year overall coaching women[apos]s college hockey. Prior to Cornell, Burke spent three years in the dual role of head women[apos]s hockey coach and assistant softball coach at Hamline University, an NCAA Division III school in St. Paul, Minn. During his tenure, Burke produced an All-America runner-up goalkeeper, three all-conference selections, one all-rookie, and two all-academic honorees while moving the program to varsity status. He brought 24 students to Hamline in only two recruiting years. While putting in place the athletic foundation for the program, Burke also focused on the importance of academic success. Hamline[apos]s hockey squad produced 11 Dean[apos]s list students and maintained a team grade point average of 3.12.
Prior to his time at Hamline, Burke served as head coach of the Tidewater Squirt travel hockey team, helping the Chesapeake, Va., amateur team to a 37-13-5 overall record and 18-1-1 league mark in its inaugural season (1999-2000). He also spent two seasons (1995-97) as head coach, general manager and co-founder of the Virginia Commonwealth University hockey club. His coaching career began during the 1993-94 campaign when Burke was a volunteer assistant with the Richmond Renegades of the ECHL, working with several pro scouts.
For the Big Red, Burke is responsible for team travel, equipment purchasing, recruiting, and practice and game duties. He is also the liaison with the Tompkins Girls Hockey Association (TGHA) in running the Cub Club, a program pairing up Cornell players with young girls in the TGHA who are just learning to play hockey.
Youth hockey development has always been important to Burke, who has worked with numerous hockey programs, camps and clinics, including the Cornell Girls Hockey Camp, the Rocky Mountain Elite Girls Hockey Camp in Colorado, and the Cutting Edge Girls Hockey Camp in Connecticut.
Burke has his Advanced (Level IV) Coaching Certification from USA Hockey, and has also served as an official under USA Hockey.
A 1992 graduate of SUNY College at Fredonia, Burke was a varsity hockey player for two years before graduating in 1992 with a degree in Theatre Arts.
Burke lives in Lansing with his wife, Andrea, and eight-year-old daughter, Kailyn.
