Ken Burmeister, Assistant Coach on Final Four Team Passes Away

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Former University of Iowa men’s basketball assistant coach Ken Burmeister passed away on Tuesday in San Antonio at the age of 72 following a battle 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 University (1999), and Incarnate Word (2006-18). He 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 CollegeInsider.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.