News

Portland State University Athletic Director Tom Burman has been named the new vice president of the University of Wyoming Foundation. Teri Mariani, a softball coach and administrator at Portland State for the past 30 years, will assume the duties of athletics director on an interim basis.

“This was not an easy decision as I have had the opportunity to work with a fantastic group of coaches, administrators and donors here at Portland State,” said Tom Burman. “It is rare in athletics to have an opportunity to work for a president who has such great vision for his university as Dan Bernstine. He understands the role of athletics in higher education. The opportunity to return to Wyoming as the vice president of the Foundation will allow me to expand my career and support my alma mater.”

“Tom Burman helped guide Viking athletics during the transition to full membership in the Big Sky Conference, and he also never lost sight of the need to emphasize the importance of academic achievement and good citizenship in the overall experience of our student-athletes,” said President Bernstine. “I appreciate Teri Mariani’s willingness to step in as interim athletics director, providing the department with both leadership and stability. The University will wait to conduct its search for a new athletics director until fall 2006.”

Mariani is Portland State’s all-time leader in games coached and won during her 29-year tenure as softball head coach. In addition, she has served the athletics department as associate athletic director, interim athletics director and has had two stints as senior woman administrator. In 2003 she was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. She is also a member of the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Portland Metropolitan Softball Hall of Fame

Tom Burman took the helm of the athletics program at Portland State in September 2000 only four years after the Vikings moved up to NCAA Division I from Division II, and joined the Big Sky Conference. In 2005, the Vikings had the most successful Division I season yet, winning Big Sky Conference championships in women’s soccer, men’s basketball and women’s golf as well as banner years for women’s volleyball and women’s track and field. The Vikings finished third in the Big Sky All-Sports Trophy, its best finish ever.

During Burman’s tenure, three of his coaching hires went on to garner Coach of the Year honors from the Big Sky Conference, while numerous players were recognized for accomplishments on the field and in the classroom. In 2002, the University completed its first round of NCAA Certification and was certified without conditions.

Burman also played a role in securing private funding for the athletics program. The Peter W. Stott Center underwent over $1.3 million in renovations over the past five years, including a completely renovated gymnasium, the Morrow Team Room, the Nudelman Men’s and Women’s Basketball Locker Rooms and the current office renovation project that is nearing completion.

Burman joined Portland State in 2000 after five years as the associate athletics director, external, at the University of Wyoming. While there, he helped increase the profile and financial support of the program, including a $9.5 million capital campaign to build a state-of-the-art Student Athlete Center at Wyoming.

The Portland State University Department of Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate varsity athletic programs, six for men and eight for women. Men and women compete in basketball, cross country, and indoor and outdoor track and field. Other men’s programs are football and wrestling, while women compete exclusively in golf, soccer, softball and volleyball. Portland State is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and competes at the Division I level. The Vikings are a member of the Big Sky conference in all sports except wrestling, which is in the Pac-10 and softball, which is a member of the Pacific Coast Softball Conference.

Media may contact Ben Blalock, University of Wyoming Foundation President, to whom Burman will report, at 307-766-3948. For more information on Portland State Viking Athletics, contact Mike Lund, 503-725-5602. Other media calls can be directed to David Santen at Portland State, 503-725-8789.

Source:
Tom Burman (503-725-4000)
Department of Athletics

For Immediate Release (#06-014)