Mary Burke, the 2007 and 2008 Rhode Island Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, most recently completed her 21st season as head coach of the Bryant women's basketball team, guiding the Bulldogs to their best season yet at the Division I level as members of the Northeast Conference.

Under her tutelage, Burke and the Bulldogs won 14 games in 2011-12, setting a new single-season high in victories since the program moved to Division I. 

Along the way, Bryant blew out fellow Rhode Island foes Brown University and URI in a pair of non-conference tilts while finishing the season 7-4 outside of the NEC. The Bulldogs also notched road wins against Colgate, Maine and Dartmouth while defeating Lafayette and Army at home.

The high point of the season came in early January when the Bulldogs swept a weekend series at home against two-time NEC champion and preseason-favorite Saint Francis (PA) and preseason No. 2 Robert Morris in back-to-back games to move into second place in the conference. Those wins moved the team to an unprecedented five games over .500 for the first time since moving to Division I in 2008-09.

Despite a tough month of February, the 2011-12 season was one of Burke's finest coaching campaigns yet. The Bulldogs were able to bounce back from injuries to key players, and despite their thin lineup, the team was competitive throughout the year and showed flashes of brilliance along the way. With all of the major components returning to the court in 2012-13, the Bulldogs should be primed for a breakout year in their first season eligible for postseason competition.

The former Providence College star is just two wins shy of 300 in her career, as her 298 coaching victories are the most in program history. Burke also has brought the program to within one victory of its 500th all-time win.

During the 2010-11 season, the Bulldogs finished eighth in the Northeast Conference with a 10-19 overall record. The Bulldogs earned wins over the Air Force,Colgate, Holy Cross, St. Francis (N.Y.) (twice), Long Island (twice), Farleigh Dickinson, Mt. St. Mary's, and Wagner

The Bulldogs had a memorable 2009-10 season as they earned 13 DI victories and went 10-8 in the NEC - good for a sixth-place finish in the standings. In the first season eligible for NEC accolades, senior Kelsey O'Keefe was named First Team All-NEC and freshman Meredith Soper earned NEC All-Rookie honors. O'Keefe also earned one player of the week honor.

In the 2008-09 season, the Bulldogs' inaugural DI season, they posted the most wins of the four Division I schools in Rhode Island (PC, URI, and Brown). The Bulldogs earned wins over New Hampshire, Colgate, Central Connecticut (twice), Saint Francis, Wagner and Fairleigh Dickinson.

Before the transition to Division I, the Bulldogs were among the top teams in the Northeast-10 conference. Under Burke's tutelage, the Bulldogs qualified for the the NCAA Tournament seven times, including back-to-back appearances in 2004 and 2005, as well as their final appearance in the Division II Tournament in 2008.

In Bryant's final year in Division II in 2007-08 -- Burke and her team ended the season 20-12 overall, posting a 12-10 mark in Bryant's final season as a member of the Northeast-10 Conference.

The 2007-08 season saw the Bulldogs, who were picked to finish ninth in the preseason coaches' poll, defeat three nationally ranked teams -- No. 21 Bentley, No. 15 Stonehill and No. 17 Franklin Pierce -- en route to a sixth-place conference finish and seventh-seed NCAA Regional Tournament ranking. It was Bryant's seventh NCAA appearance and first 20-win season since 2003-04.

The season saw the conclusion of Lynne-Ann Kokoski's successful four-year Bulldog career, averaging 6.7 assists per game as a senior (No. 6 in nation) and graduating No. 2 in the Bryant record books for all-time assists (385).

Bryant also appeared in the national polls on five occasions in 2007-08, each time in the "Others Receiving Votes" category.

The 2008 dance was Burke's fourth as a head coach, while the 2007-08 effort marked just the second time she has eclipsed the 20-win clip.

Another highlight of Burke's tenure at Bryant came in the 2003-04 season, when the Bulldogs finished the year ranked in the USA Today Division II Coaches' Poll Top-25 and advanced to the NCAA Regional Final, where they fell to Northeast-10 foe Merrimack College, finishing the season 22-9.

Burke's rapid climb up the coaching ladder began in 1987 when she joined former Bryant head coach Ralph Tomasso's staff as an assistant with the Bulldogs.

She was promoted to head coach, August 1, 1991, becoming only the fourth women's basketball head coach in Bryant history. 

In addition to her duties as basketball coach, Burke spent two seasons as the head women's volleyball coach at Bryant, during which time she amassed a 35-20 record.

Burke's success as the Bulldogs' leader comes as no surprise, considering the lofty heights she reached as a player at Providence College. A three-time Big East All-Conference selection, Burke was named a District I All-American as a senior. In her four years as a Friar, Burke helped lead her team to an 80-36 record. During that time, she led the 1985-86 Providence squad to the Big East Championship Game and a bid in the NCAA tournament and also spearheaded the Friars' run in the 1986-87 NIT.

Burke graduated as the Friars' fourth-leading women's scorer (1,672 points) and seventh-leading rebounder (740) of all time. Her 43-point outburst against Miami of Ohio in her final season at Providence set a new school record, etching her name in the record books yet again.

Before even attending Providence, Burke had already made a name for herself in Rhode Island. Earning All-State recognition five times at Toll Gate High School - three times in basketball and twice in volleyball - Burke has been honored on two occasions by Words Unlimited, Rhode Island's professional organization of sports publicists and journalists.

Burke was named Rhode Island's Schoolgirl Athlete of the Year in 1983 and accepted the organization's highest honor in 1987 when she was named Rhode Island's Female Athlete of the Year. She was also the recipient of the ECAC Award of Valor in 1987.

Burke was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, and enshrined in the Providence College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.

In addition to her Bulldog coaching duties, Burke directs the popular All-Star Girls' Basketball Day Camp held at Bryant University each July. She is a resident of Western Cranston, R.I., and when she is not on the court she enjoys spending time with her three dogs, Happy, JR and Precious, and her two cats, Mr. Boots and Hope.