NAU removes interim label, names Shane Burcar men’s basketball coach
Mar 25, 2020, 6:29 PM
NAU has removed the interim label and named Shane Burcar its men's basketball coach (Photo: Northern Arizona University)
(Photo: Northern Arizona University)
Shane Burcar had his interim label removed. He was promoted to the Northern Arizona men’s basketball head coach role, the university announced Wednesday.
“Burcar exhibited the most impassioned and thoughtful vision for Lumberjack Basketball,” Mike Marlow, the NAU vice president for intercollegiate athletics, said in a statement. “I could not be more excited to announce that Shane emerged as our top choice.”
This season, NAU went 16-14 (10-10 Big Sky), its best record since the 2014-15 campaign. Over the two previous seasons, the team won a total of 15 games.
The Lumberjacks’ offense improved from 330th in the nation to 157th and they had their first five-game winning streak since December 2010.
Burcar was one of 15 finalists for the Joe B. Hall Award, given to the best first-year Div. 1 men’s basketball coach.
“This season was the greatest challenge for myself and our staff not knowing what the future held,” Burcar said in the statement.
“I was impressed with our players – we didn’t lose anyone before the season started – and I’m thankful to our players, their parents and our incoming freshmen. We’re going to have the right people here with our current roster, our players coming in and our staff and we’re just scratching the surface to be a consistent winner in the Big Sky.”
Prior to NAU, Burcar coached at Mesa High School for 12 years. His 277 wins there are the most in school history, according to the NAU press release.
