Mary Burke, the 2007 and 2008 Rhode Island Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, enters her 21st season as head coach of the Bryant women's basketball team, guiding the Bulldogs into their fourth year of Division I and third of Northeast Conference competition in 2011-12.

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 a program-high 13 DI victories and went 10-8 in the NEC. 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.

Bryant finished the season ranked sixth in the NEC, but due to NCAA transition rules, the Bulldogs were ineligible for postseason play.

Bryant, led by O'Keefe, has won 24 games over the first two seasons of the transition. O'Keefe has averaged 15.9 points per game over the course of the two seasons and pulled down and average of 7.0 rebounds per contest. The All-Decade player has led the Bulldogs in scoring every year of her career. She finished her senior season ranked fifth in the conference in scoring. O'Keefe finishes her career with 1,797 points, good enough for third all-time, and fourth in all-time rebounding with 838. 

After losing seven of its first 10 games, the Black and Gold turned their season around as they went on to win 10 of the next 16. The Bulldogs earned victories over NEC opponents St. Francis (NY) (twice), Monmouth (twice), Quinnipiac (twice), Fairleigh Dickinson, Central Conecticut, Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner. They also picked up non-conference victories over Lafayette, Colgate and Yale.

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.

Coach Burke has been a mainstay in Rhode Island basketball throughout her playing and coaching years. Under Burke's tutelage, the Bulldogs have made it to 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.

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. She boasts a 270-268 record in her 19-year head coaching career.

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 this year, 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.

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, RI, 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.