Ken Burmeister, Assistant Coach on Final Four Team Passes Away

RobHowe

Administrator
UI Press Release

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Former University of Iowa men’s basketball assistant coach Ken Burmeister passed away in San Antonio at the age of 72 following a fight with cancer.


Burmeister coached five seasons at Iowa under head coach Lute Olson (1979-83). He helped lead the Hawkeyes to five NCAA Tournaments, including the 1980 Final Four and the 1983 Sweet 16. A sampling of Iowa players Burmeister coached include: All-American Ronnie Lester, Kenny Arnold, Kevin Boyle, Michael Payne, Bob Hansen, and Greg Stokes.


Burmeister amassed a 311-280 (.526) record in 21 seasons as a collegiate head coach at four institutions: UT-San Antonio (1986-90), Loyola (1994-98), Trinity (1999), and Incarnate Word (2006-18). Burmeister led the Roadrunners to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1998.


The native of Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, posted 10 winning seasons at Incarnate Word, including two Heartland Conference titles, a pair of appearances in the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament and a berth in the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament. He led the Cardinals through a transition into NCAA Division I play seven years ago.



Burmeister also served as an assistant coach at UT-Arlington (1976-79), Arizona (1983-86), and DePaul (1990-94). He helped coach both the Wildcats (1985 and 1986) and Blue Demons (1991 and 1992) to two NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
UI Press Release

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Former University of Iowa men’s basketball assistant coach Ken Burmeister passed away in San Antonio at the age of 72 following a fight with cancer.


Burmeister coached five seasons at Iowa under head coach Lute Olson (1979-83). He helped lead the Hawkeyes to five NCAA Tournaments, including the 1980 Final Four and the 1983 Sweet 16. A sampling of Iowa players Burmeister coached include: All-American Ronnie Lester, Kenny Arnold, Kevin Boyle, Michael Payne, Bob Hansen, and Greg Stokes.


Burmeister amassed a 311-280 (.526) record in 21 seasons as a collegiate head coach at four institutions: UT-San Antonio (1986-90), Loyola (1994-98), Trinity (1999), and Incarnate Word (2006-18). Burmeister led the Roadrunners to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1998.


The native of Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, posted 10 winning seasons at Incarnate Word, including two Heartland Conference titles, a pair of appearances in the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament and a berth in the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament. He led the Cardinals through a transition into NCAA Division I play seven years ago.



Burmeister also served as an assistant coach at UT-Arlington (1976-79), Arizona (1983-86), and DePaul (1990-94). He helped coach both the Wildcats (1985 and 1986) and Blue Demons (1991 and 1992) to two NCAA Tournament appearances.
The very definition of a basketball lifer. Those people are the heart and soul of the game, and I hope they are never phased out.
 
Ken was the primary recruiter that worked with me back in the day. I Just couldn't get Lute to make the offer. Clearly he knew what he was doing.
 
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