NE10 40th Anniversary Home Page
In football, the offensive line is simultaneously the most important part of the team and the most unheralded; there are few individual stats, the failure of one is the failure of all, and the success of the unit requires five players to work so in concert that they meld together into one. To come from the offensive line and make a name for one’s self requires a level of impact far above and beyond the norm.
Robert Burke reached that level at American International College and with the Northeast-10 Conference in a career of nearly four decades.
A First-Team All-Yankee Conference selection at tackle his senior season at the University of Massachusetts in 1964, Burke came to AIC in 1968, hired by legendary head coach Gayton Salvucci as an assistant. He served diligently in that role and remained on the staff when Salvucci left for Holy Cross in 1970 and was replaced by new head coach and athletic director Milt Piepul.
When Piepul resigned the position following the incredible 1975 season that saw AIC put together its best-ever record at the time, 8-1, he designated Burke as his replacement. Piepul’s choice proved to be a good one, finishing each of his first five seasons above .500, culminating that run in 1980.
The 1980 team rivaled the last Piepul-coached squad, and made national waves. The Yellow Jackets reached a high-water mark of being ranked fifth nationally in the Associated Press NCAA Division II Poll, and ended the year at 8-2, heartbreakingly falling to ninth in the final rankings when the NCAA Tournament was an eight-team affair. To date, the ninth-place finish in the poll is the best an AIC football team has ever ended up, and the 1980 campaign is the only one in which AIC has been inside the Top 10 nationally.
Burke, like his predecessor, stepped down as head coach to focus on administration duties as associate athletic director following the 1982 season, ending his head coaching tenure at 36-28-2. Three years later, with Piepul’s retirement, Burke was named the director of athletics.
If Burke’s success at football was his blueprint, he was able to replicate it from the AD’s chair in spades. Under his leadership, AIC added four new programs, with wrestling and men’s lacrosse in the early 1990s and women’s lacrosse and field hockey in time for the 1996-97 academic year. AIC’s ice hockey program made the jump to NCAA Division I under his tenure as well in 1998.
Additionally, Burke also was in charge as AIC added physically to its space, overseeing the construction of the Metcalf Gymnasium and the O’Donnell Hall of Fame.
Team success at AIC was a hallmark of the Burke era. The most notable teams were the back-to-back College World Series entrants by softball in 1997-1998, with baseball also appearing in 1991, and women’s basketball made two Elite Eight appearances and reached the national title game in 2006.
Astoundingly, Burke also spent six years as the Commissioner of the NE10 from 1989-1995, additionally returning to the role in 1997-98. His leadership of the conference saw the NE10’s first-ever national champion, as the Merrimack softball team won it all in 1994.
Burke’s dedication to his craft, to his institution, and to the conference earned him numerous awards. Most notably, he was an inaugural member of the NE10 Hall of Fame, announced in concert with the announcement of his retirement in 2006 after almost four decades of service to AIC. The Yellow Jackets have also honored Burke in that way since his retirement; in 2015, he was inducted into the AIC Hall of Fame.
Additionally, the College’s athletic department annually awards the Robert Burke Athletic Director's Award to deserving student-athletes. The Burke Award “recognizes community service and outstanding performance or competitive improvement over an athletic career.” It is a fitting tribute to a person who served his community and continually improved it over a long and storied career.
Bob Burke Links of Note:
ABOUT THE NE10
Beginning its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
