The W Director of Athletics Buddy Foster has announced that Dean Burrows has been promoted to full-time Assistant Director of Athletics. Burrows, consequently, will step away as the Owls head men’s basketball coach after five seasons guiding the program.
Burrows had been serving, this past year, as the Assistant A.D. on an interim basis. With Burrows now assuming the athletics administrative position on a permanent basis, a national search for MUW’s next men’s basketball coach is already underway, Forster said.
“We are so blessed and appreciative to have someone like Dean Burrows as a part of the Owls’ family,” Foster said. “As a former coach myself, I understood the difficulty of the decision he had to make in choosing between coaching and an expanded leadership opportunity. While it is certainly hard on the men’s basketball program to lose him, the entire Athletics Department is now enriched across the board, to have someone with his expertise and vision working to better 17 sports and not just one. We are excited for what’s ahead for our department.”
Burrows leaves the coaching realm after taking over a post-COVID-19 program, which endured a 3-15 campaign in 2021-22, to setting a school record for victories in 2025-26. Additionally, this year’s Owls’ team won the SLIAC tournament and made the University’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III men’s basketball championship tournament.
“I have been beyond blessed to have (coached) for almost 30 years of my life,” Burrows reflected. “This upcoming opportunity allows me to be more present, first and foremost, for my wife and our four children, who have sacrificed more than their fair share over the years. I get the opportunity to continue to be a part of a team and something that is far bigger than me.
Burrows continued, “transitioning into this new role on a full-time basis, I feel that I can impact and be a resource for the coaches in our department, while also be able to do my part to try and help more student-athletes. I’m appreciative of Buddy Foster for entrusting me with this responsibility and excited to get to work and do my part to help move our department, university, and community, forward.”
