Burke was named head coach at San Francisco State in 2005. During his eight seasons as SFSU, Burke coached 15 NCAA Division II national qualifiers, seven of whom earned All-America honors.
Prior to coming to San Francisco, he served a season as a volunteer coach at his alma mater, Cal, where he primarily worked with the female sprinters and hurdlers. Prior to Cal, Burke served as College of Marin's head track & field coach, a position he held since 1995. He joined College of Marin in 1994 as an assistant before being promoted the following season. While there, Burke coached two athletes to back-to-back State Junior College championships in the decathlon as well as Irish national record-holder and two-time Olympian Tom McGuirk (400H).
Burke began his coaching career in 1982 at Redwood High School in Larkspur. While at Redwood, his teams compiled a 238-49 dual meet record while winning 13 Marin County Athletic League titles and one North Coast Section Championship.
Burke graduated from Cal with a degree in Political Science and earned his teaching credential from San Francisco State. He is a graduate of the Branson School in Ross, where he held numerous school records in both the sprint and hurdle events.
