March 24, 2009

Philadelphia, PA - The La Salle University basketball family mourns the loss of letterman and longtime Philadelphia hoops coach Eddie Burke ('67) who passed away at the age of 63.

Burke played three years for the Explorers from 1963-67 and then went on to a distinguished career as a collegiate and high school coach.

In addition to winning a pair of Philadelphia Catholic League titles at St. Joseph's Prep, he coached at Drexel University for 14 seasons.  In 1986 he led the Dragons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance with a team that featured current La Salle assistant Walt Fuller.

Besides his obvious ties to La Salle, which include being an Explorer teammate to current Temple head coach Fran Dunphy, his many influences extended throughout the city and beyond with direct current ties to all six Division I basketball programs.  As high school coach at the Prep he coached current Saint Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli and Penn Quaker stand-out and current Penn radio analyst Vince Curran.  As the head man at Drexel he hired current Villanova head coach Jay Wright as an assistant.

The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the entire La Salle community joins the Burke family in mourning their loss.

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