Skidmore College has named Joe Burke as head men’s basketball coach, following a national search. Burke recently completed his sixth year as an assistant coach at the U.S. Naval Academy after four years on the Cornell University staff.

“We are thrilled to have Joe Burke join the Skidmore family and take the helm of our men’s basketball program,” said Gail Cummings-Danson, Skidmore athletics director. “Joe has proven himself as a tireless worker who has the ability to attract outstanding student-athletes. I look forward to watching the progress our program makes under his guidance.”

Burke was instrumental in the resurgence of the Navy program, serving as one of its top recruiters. He brought outstanding talent that immediately contributed to Navy’s improvement on the court. Five of Navy’s recruits earned Patriot League All-Rookie Team honors over the past six seasons.

In the 2008-09 season, one of Burke’s earliest recruits, Kaleo Kina, was a first-team All-Patriot League selection after leading the Midshipmen to a 19-11 record that equaled the most wins for Navy since the 1999-2000 season.

"I am thrilled to be at Skidmore,” Burke said. “This is a tremendous opportunity for me and my family. It will be a privilege to fulfill a life long dream of being a head coach at a great institution.

"I am anxious to get started," Burke said. "I have been fortunate to be an assistant to Steve Donahue when he took over at Cornell and Billy Lange when he took over the Naval Academy program, so I have a good feel for how much work there is to do. I am excited to start reaching out to the team, their families and the former players because this is truly their program. I am also excited to get on the road to recruit and represent Skidmore College."

A 1996 graduate of Ursinus College, Burke sees Skidmore as the prefect place for his first head coaching position. “I immediately reached out to Gail Cummings-Danson when the job became available and that interest only grew stronger as I went through the interview process and had the opportunity to meet Gail, her staff, the committee and members of the team.

“Everyone associated with the school and the community made me feel at home. Having been a student-athlete at Ursinus and having coached at such great academic/athletic institutions like Cornell and the Naval Academy really makes this a great transition.”

Prior to Navy, Burke coached at Cornell from 2001-04, serving as the team’s top assistant in the 2003-04 season. He was responsible for recruiting, practice planning, and game strategy. After leaving Cornell, his recruits helped the Big Red continue their upward trend toward their recent dominance of the Ivy League.

"I couldn’t be more excited about the future of this program," Burke said. "I think there are many pieces in place and I look forward to providing the leadership to take it to another level. As I told the kids when I met them, we will never settle. They want to achieve great things both on and off the court and it is my goal that as a team we do just that."

Burke was an assistant coach at Philadelphia University from 1998 to 2000. A 1992 graduate of Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in Pennsauken, N.J., he served as an assistant at his alma mater from 1996-1998.

Burke succeeds Luke Flockerzi, who recently took over the University of Rochester program. Skidmore returns four starters from last year’s team which went 16-10, tying a program varsity win record.

Burke and his wife, Victoria, are the parents of a son Alec (6) and two daughters, Elena (4), and Olivia Grace (2).

With spring sports in full swing, eight Skidmore College student-athletes were recognized by the Liberty League for their efforts during the past week.

Softball opened up their season with a 5-5 record at the Rebel Spring games as Lauren Dinsdale (Harrington Park, N.J.) was named Performer of the Week, Sam Crose (Assonet, Mass.) picked up Pitcher of the Week and Julia Schwartz (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) took home Rookie of the Week. Dinsdale caught all 10 games for Skidmore while batting .438 (14-32) with a home run, four doubles, seven RBI and six runs scored. Crose tossed 42 1/3 innings, posting a 4-3 record with a 2.15 ERA while striking out 39 batters. Schwartz led the Thoroughbreds with four home runs while batting .333 with nine runs and nine RBI and also was the winning pitcher in relief against Rutgers-Newark.

Baseball’s Zack Rudman (Pittsford, N.Y.) was named Co-Performer of the Week and Trevor Brucato (Stamford, Conn.) earned Co-Pitcher of the week after a 3-1 week for the Thoroughbreds. Rudman went 6-7 with three RBI and three runs scored in a doubleheader sweep of Becker and finished the week with .562 (9-16) average with six runs scored, four RBI and two stolen bases. Brucato picked up a tough no-decision in a 3-1 13 inning loss to #2 Wooster, he tossed seven innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out one and walking one.

Women’s tennis freshman Brittany Trimble (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) received Rookie of the Week after her strong play in Skidmore’s 5-4 win at Rochester. Trimble earned a valuable two points, winning 6-2, 6-2 at number six singles and teamed up with Rachel Loeb to win 8-3 at number three doubles.

Golf’s Chris DeJohn (Rocky Hill, Conn.) picked up Performer of the Week honors after finishing first at the Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational. DeJohn was three under for the tournament, shooting 67-74-72—213 and his first round 67 was the low round for the 27 team tournament which featured 13 of the top 20 Division III programs.

Women’s lacrosse freshman Mackenzie Staub (East Northport, N.Y.) received Co-Rookie of the Week honors after a five-point week. In a 19-3 win over Fort Lewis, Staub tallied two goals and two assists and would add another goal in the Thoroughbreds’ 14-13 loss to Colorado College.

-- Courtesy Skidmore College

Olympic medalist Kristy Kowal, who won silver in swimming at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, will be the keynote speaker for the Skidmore College observance of National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD), Feb. 4.

Kowal’s talk, scheduled at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, will be in Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall. A full schedule of events designed to appeal to the region’s young female athletes will be offered Saturday, Feb. 7, in the College’s sports and recreation center.

The entire Skidmore observance is free and open to the public.

Kowal broke an American record at the Sydney Olympics, placing second in the 200-meter breaststroke, where she finished in 2:24.56. In 2001, she was second in the world championships in the 50-meter breaststroke, and in 2002, she was third in the 200-meter breaststroke at the Pan Pacific Championships. While a student at the University of Georgia, she helped her team to three NCAA swimming and diving championships. She was a seven-time NCAA champion and the NCAA’s Co-Swimmer of the year in 2000. In addition, Kowal was the NCAA Woman of the Year in 2000.

Kowal had not swum year-round until the spring of 1995, when she earned a spot on the 1995 Pan Pacific team, her first international team. Upon winning her Olympic medal, Kowal told CNNSI.com, “I have been waiting for this for so long. Winning an Olympic medal has always been a dream of mine. It didn't hit me until I was behind the award stand that I had made it.” The Reading, Penn., native earned a B.S. degree in education in 2002 and is now an elementary school teacher.

Saturday’s activities will feature sports clinics for girls in grades 3 through 8, lunch with Skidmore’s student-athletes, and the opportunity to watch a Skidmore women’s swimming and diving meet. All are free and open to the public. The schedule is as follows:

• 9:30 a.m., registration for clinics in field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball in the Sports and Recreation Center.

• 12:15 p.m., lunch with Skidmore’s student-athletes in the Dance Center gym. The lunch will include a visit from the Skidmore Thoroughbred mascot, face painting, and free give-aways.

• 1 p.m., Skidmore Women’s Swimming and Diving Invitational, Sports and Recreation Center pool.

For registration information for the Skidmore events, call 580-5394.