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Head Coach
Rico Burkett
Years at Wayne State:
11 years
Education:
Des Moines North High School, 1987
Associate's degree - Iowa Central CC, 1989
Bachelor's degree - Univ. of North Dakota, 1993
Previous Positions:
Student Assistant - University of North Dakota, 1991-94
Assistant Coach - Wayne State College, 1994-95
Assistant Coach - Stetson University, 1995-97
Assistant Coach - Wayne State College, 1997-2000
Contact Information:
Phone: (402)375-7309
E-mail: riburke1@wsc.edu
Rico Burkett enters his seventh year as the head men's basketball
coach for the Wildcats. Burkett guided the Wildcats to an
8-17 overall record and a tie for fourth place (6-8) in the
Northern Sun Conference in 2005-06. His overall mark at WSC
is 69-96, including a
48-50 record against Northern Sun Conference schools.
Burkett was named the 22nd head men’s basketball coach
in Wayne State College history on April 7, 2000. He took over
a team he helped mold into one of the most successful NCAA
Division II programs in the nation. In Burkett’s four
seasons as assistant coach, the Wildcats won 90 games, the
most wins during any four-year period in school history, and
two consecutive NCAA Division II national tournament appearances.
During his rookie season, he directed the Wildcats to a 15-15
overall record, and a 12-6 third-place finish in the Northern
Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The competitive Wildcat leader
looks to continue the success that has been established in
his past.
In1999-2000, the Wildcats finished the season 26-6 and ranked
19th in the NABC/Division II Bulletin Top 25 poll. That season
they won the NSIC regular and postseason titles and went on
to compete in the regional tournament in Denver, Colo. There,
the Wildcats were eliminated in the championship game by the
eventual national champion Metropolitan State College of Denver,
by a score of 84-72.
As the Wildcats' assistant, Burkett was involved in all
phases of the program, with a special emphasis on working
with the perimeter players. He developed, organized and maintained
the current WSC recruiting system and worked closely with
the summer basketball camps. Burkett also was the academic
coordinator for all basketball student-athletes.
Burkett came to WSC from the University of North Dakota
in 1994, where he was the assistant coach with the nationally-prominent
North Dakota women’s basketball team. Serving as the
assistant coach during the 1994-95 season, Burkett returned
to WSC in 1996, after spending two years at Stetson University
in DeLand, Fla.
A standout point-guard for the University of North Dakota’s
men’s basketball program, Burkett lettered for the Fighting
Sioux from 1989-91. As a senior, he was named the North Central
Conference Defensive Player of the Year. As a junior, he set
the UND single-season assists (232) and steals (75) records.
In his two-year career, Burkett dished out 401 assists, which
broke the UND career record. He currently is third on the
Fighting Sioux all-time assists chart.
Burkett was a key figure in the resurgence of the North Dakota
program. In his two-year UND career, the Fighting Sioux posted
a 57-11 record. UND won two NCC conference titles and two
trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, finishing third
in 1989-90.
Before attending North Dakota, Burkett played two seasons
at Iowa Central Community College, where he helped the Tritons
to a regional title and a berth in the national tournament
in 1988-89.
Burkett, a native of Des Moines, Iowa, graduated from UND
in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education/secondary
education. He earned his associate of arts degree from ICCC
in 1989.
Rico and his wife, Mandy, have one daughter, Taryn (2) and
they reside in Wayne, Neb.
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