Burton Named SIUE Women’s Soccer Head Coach
           EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Derek Burton, most recently an assistant coach at Iowa State University, has been named the head coach of the women’s soccer program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
           Dr. Brad Hewitt, SIUE Director of Athletics, announced the staff addition. “We are extremely excited to have a coach with a variety of NCAA Division I experience who also is a native St. Louisan. Derek filled every characteristic we desired to find in a head coach. He is hard-working, has demonstrated a commitment to academics, and has a strong knowledge of the Metropolitan area.”
           Burton becomes the fifth head coach in the history of the program. The Cougars are continuing its transition to NCAA Division I play. It also was recently announced that SIUE will be joining the Ohio Valley Conference with the Cougars being inserted into the league schedule as early as the 2011 season.
           “I would like to thank Dr. Hewitt and the entire search committee for their confidence in my appointment,” said Burton. “I am honored to have the opportunity to coach at a fine institution like SIUE, with a storied tradition in the college game, a strong group of current players and a tremendous future as we move into Division I competition. It is extremely gratifying to be able to coach soccer at the highest level in the area where I grew up playing soccer.”
           The Cougar women’s soccer program welcomes Burton who has links to St. Louis and the Ohio Valley Conference. Burton helped Vianney High School to a state championship in 1991 and helped his team to a No. 1 boy’s soccer national ranking by USA Today.
           After four years as a starter at Arkansas-Little Rock and one more year as an assistant, Burton spent two seasons at Morehead State as an assistant coach. It was the first two years of the OVC women’s soccer program for Morehead State. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in health education at Arkansas-Little Rock in 1997 and a Master’s in Sports Administration at Morehead State in 1999.
           Burton has head coaching experience as the leader at Mount Senario College during the 2000-2001 season and Missouri Valley College from 2001 to 2006. He coached four All-America players and 14 All-America Scholar-Athlete players in five seasons at Missouri Valley. He was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2002.
           He returned to Division I soccer in 2006 as an assistant at Iowa State. He was involved in leading training sessions, scheduling and was the co-Director of the Iowa State Soccer Camps. Burton also was a staff member of the Region II Olympic Development Program (ODP).
           SIUE is coming off a 13-5-1 season and have eight starters returning for the 2008 season.
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