•Served as one of 13 Members on the College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee from 2020-22
•Has led over $120 million in fundraising projects as A.D. at Wyoming
•In January 2020, Presented Citizenship Award by Wyoming We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution
•Longest Serving Athletics Director in the Mountain West, currently in his 17th Year as University of Wyoming A.D.
•Nine of Wyoming’s athletics teams achieved perfect Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores of 1,000 for the most recent academic year measured.
Tom Burman is currently in his 17th year as Director of Athletics at the University of Wyoming. For the past 16 years that Burman has served as Athletics Director, many of the most successful and most memorable moments in Wyoming Athletics history have taken place.
Since Burman was named to the position of Athletics Director on Oct. 9, 2006, he has hired some of the most accomplished head coaches in University of Wyoming history. Academically, Cowboy and Cowgirl student-athletes have achieved at exceptional levels. Fundraising and season-ticket sales have reached record levels and numerous facility projects have been completed. Burman has also scheduled many of the greatest events in Wyoming Athletics history.
“I care deeply about this University, the success of UW Athletics and the well-being of our student-athletes,” Burman said upon his hiring. “We will build a program that wins championships, is a source of great pride to our alumni and generates enthusiasm across the state.”
Recent Successes
In the 2022-23 season, Wyoming Football earned its fifth bowl bid in the last seven seasons and finished second in the Mountain West Conference Mountain Division. UW’s Cowgirl Tennis team won the 2023 Mountain West regular-season championship outright and earned a bid to the first-ever Universal Tennis NIT, marking the first time a Cowgirl Tennis team earned a postseason berth. Cowgirl Soccer captured the 2022 Mountain West regular-season championship, earned the No. 1 seed in the MW Tournament and advanced to the Mountain West Tournament Championship Game. The Cowgirl Basketball team finished second in the regular-season conference race, advanced to the MW Tournament Championship Game and concluded the season in the Second Round of the WNIT. Cowgirl Cross Country was ranked as high as No. 34 in the nation, achieving its first national ranking in program history. Runner Katelyn Mitchem qualified for the NCAA Championships where she earned the NCAA Elite 90 award as the top scholar-athlete participating in the championship. Mitchem also was named the 2022-23 Mountain West Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Cowboy Golf earned a berth in the inaugural GOLFWEEK National Golf Invitational postseason tournament where they tied Penn State for second place. Wyoming Track and Field had six individuals, one woman and five men, qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West First Round. Long jumper Kareem Mersal advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships where he earned Honorable Mention All-America honors, finishing in 20th place. Katelyn Mitchem advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase. She earned Second Team All-America honors, finishing 13th. Cowboy Wrestling continued its tradition of qualifying individuals for the NCAA Championships as three wrestlers qualified for the 2023 NCAA Championships.
The 2021-22 season saw the sports of football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, swimming and diving, track and field and wrestling all conclude their seasons with student-athletes participating in postseason competition. Football won the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl for its third consecutive bowl victory, and Cowboy linebacker Chad Muma was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft. Men’s basketball earned a bid to the 2022 NCAA Tournament after posting one of its most exciting seasons in years with a 25-9 record. Cowboy Basketball also achieved its first national ranking since the 2014-15 season. Women’s basketball advanced to the third round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, and wrestling posted a Top 25 finish at the 2022 NCAA Championships, placing 23rd. The sports of football, swimming and diving, track and field and wrestling all had individuals earn All-America honors in 2021-22. Muma earned All-America honors in football. Diver Melissa Mirafuentes achieved All-America status at the NCAA Championships. Cowgirl long jumper Shayla Howell reached All-America status at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, while Cowboy long jumper Kareem Mersal and discus thrower Nathan Reid both earned All-America recognition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Cowboy wrestler Stephen Buchanan placed third in the 197-pound weight class at the 2022 NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors for the second straight year.
In March of 2021, the Cowgirl Basketball team won the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship, earning the program’s second-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament. Cowboy Wrestling qualified a program tying high of seven wrestlers for the 2021 NCAA Championships, with sophomore Stephen Buchanan earning All-America honors at 197 pounds by placing eighth. The Cowboys finished 26th in the nation as a team. In June 2021, senior discus thrower Colton Paller earned First Team All-America honors by placing seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
In 2019, Cowboy Football won the 2019 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl and posted an 8-5 record. That marked the third time in four years that Wyoming earned a bowl bid. Wyoming linebackers Logan Wilson and Cassh Maluia were both selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. Cowgirl Volleyball earned a postseason berth in 2019, advancing to the Second Round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). The Cowgirls posted a 22-9 record, which was the fifth 20-win season under the direction of head coach Chad Callihan. Senior cross country runner Chris Henry won the NCAA Elite 90 Award for the second consecutive year in November 2019. That award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals of one of the NCAA’s 90 national championships.
In January of 2020, the civic education organization “Wyoming We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” recognized Burman for his civic leadership in bringing members of the Black 14 back to the University of Wyoming campus in the fall of 2019. In the first 33 years of the organization at the state level in Wyoming, only five of these awards for significant contribution as a citizen have been presented.
The 2018-19 season began with the Grand Opening of the $44 million Mick and Susie McMurry High Altitude Performance Center. Among the most memorable moments of the year were: the men’s cross country team placing 12th in the nation at the NCAA Championships; Cowgirl soccer captured a share of its first-ever, regular-season Mountain West championship; Cowboy football earned bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season; Cowgirl volleyball and Cowgirl basketball both earned postseason bids; and Cowboy wrestling qualified seven individuals for the NCAA Championships and finished 34th in the nation as a team. Individually, Paul Roberts earned All-America honors at the NCAA Cross Country Championships placing 20th, while his teammate Chris Henry became the first UW student-athlete to earn the NCAA Elite 90 Award. Cowgirl track and field athletes Jerayah Davis, Ja’la Henderson, Jordan Edmonds and Shayla Howell earned a combined seven All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Henderson also earned All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Cowboy basketball player Justin James was the 40th overall selection by the Sacramento Kings in the 2019 NBA Draft, and Marcus Epps was selected in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
In the 2017-18 season, Wyoming football appeared in its second consecutive bowl game and recorded a dominating win in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, defeating Central Michigan, 37-14. Wyoming wrestling placed 17th at the NCAA National Championships and senior Bryce Meredith captured second place at 141 pounds for the third All-America honor of his career and his second runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships. The Cowgirl Volleyball team earned a bid to the Women’s National Invitational Volleyball Championship. Women’s basketball went down to the last game of the season battling for the Mountain West Conference regular-season championship and earned a bid to the WNIT. And the Wyoming men’s swimming and diving team captured the 2018 Western Athletic Conference team championship -- the program’s first conference title in men’s swimming and diving in 50 years. Ja’la Henderson earned Second Team All-America honors at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, placing 15th in the triple jump, and she earned Honorable Mention All-America honors in the long jump, placing 17th.
Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen attracted national attention during the 2017 season and through the 2018 NFL Draft as he became the No. 7 overall pick by the Buffalo Bills -- the highest Wyoming Cowboy draft pick in history. In a study by national research firm Joyce Julius & Associates, the media exposure generated by Wyoming Football in 2017-18 was estimated at $159 million.
The 2016-17 year began when Wyoming earned the right to host the 2016 Mountain West Football Championship Game by winning the Mountain Division and being the highest ranked team in the conference to end the regular season. The Cowboys defeated two Top 25 teams along the way, were named the National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America for one of those wins and received votes themselves in the 2016 college football polls. The Pokes went on to post an 8-6 record and earn a bid to the 2016 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.
In the winter, Cowboy wrestling tied for 21st at the 2017 NCAA Championships, and Wyoming junior Bryce Meredith of Cheyenne placed fourth at 141 pounds and earned All-America honors for the second consecutive season. Meredith had finished as the national runner-up at 141 pounds the previous season as a sophomore in 2015-16.
A young Cowgirl basketball team captured a second-place finish in the Mountain West Conference for the 2016-17 season. The Cowgirls defeated then No. 15 ranked Colorado to conclude non-conference play. Wyoming proceeded to post a 22-10 overall record, and earned a Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) bid, advancing to the second round.
The spring season saw Cowgirl Tennis win a school record 18 matches, and post a perfect 10-0 home record. Wyoming was undefeated (5-0) in conference duals to win the Mountain Division. The Cowgirls advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 Mountain West Championships.
Cowboy golfer Ryan Wallen qualified for the 2017 NCAA Washington Regional, where he placed 38th.
Competitive Excellence
•Burman changed the course of Wyoming football in December 2013 when he hired Craig Bohl as head coach. Bohl had coached North Dakota State to three consecutive FCS National Championships in 2011, ‘12 and ‘13, was named National Coach of the Year in 2012 and ‘13 and was part of two FBS National Championship teams as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Nebraska, in 1995 and ‘97.
•The Cowboys have made seven bowl appearances during Burman’s tenure as athletics director. Wyoming won the 2009 New Mexico Bowl, earned a bid to the 2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl, played in the 2016 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, won the 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, won the 2019 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, won the 2021 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and appeared in the 2022 Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl.
•Burman hired current Cowboy Basketball coach Jeff Linder in March of 2020 and in two short seasons Linder led the Cowboys to the NCAA Tournament and its first Top 25 ranking since the 2014-15 season.
•In the spring of 2011, Burman hired Larry Shyatt away from his position as associate head coach at the University of Florida to return to Laramie and take over as head coach of Cowboy Basketball. Shyatt had been part of two National Championships with the Gators in 2006 and ‘07. Burman’s hiring of Shyatt received numerous positive reviews, including an “A” rating from ESPN.com. Of the 19 coaching hires that ESPN.com rated, Wyoming received one of only five “A” ratings. Shyatt’s 2015 team won the Mountain West Tournament title and earned an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
•Cowgirl Basketball achieved a great deal of success under the direction of former head coach Joe Legerski. Wyoming won the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) National Championship in the 2006-07 season, defeating Wisconsin, 72-56, in the championship game before a sold-out crowd in Laramie. In 2007-08, the Cowgirls earned the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. In the 2020-21 season under the direction of head coach Gerald Mattinson, the Cowgirls won the MW Tournament title and earned the program’s second NCAA Tournament bid in program history.
•Head wrestling coach Mark Branch was hired by Burman prior to the 2008-09 season. Branch was part of four NCAA Championships as associate head coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma State, and won two individual NCAA titles as a competitor at OSU in 1994 and ‘97. Wyoming wrestling joined the Big 12 Conference, beginning in the 2015-16 season. Branch has led the Cowboys to multiple years of success at the NCAA Championships.
•Current track and field coach Bryan Berryhill is a fifth UW head coach who has achieved a national title and was hired by Burman. Berryhill captured individual NCAA national championships in the indoor 1-mile run and outdoor 1,500-meter run in 2001 at Colorado State.
Academic Success
•Under Burman’s leadership, University of Wyoming teams have achieved unprecedented academic success, reaching historic levels of excellence in Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, Academic All-Conference honorees, team grade-point averages and graduation rates.
•The most recent APR scores released in May 2023 saw nine UW teams achieve perfect APR scores of 1,000 for the most recent academic year measured. All of Wyoming’s athletics teams far exceeded the multi-year NCAA benchmark score of 930.
•In the 2022-23 academic year, Wyoming had 83 fall sports student-athletes achieve Academic All-Conference honors, with another 129 winter and spring sport student-athletes earn the same honor for a total of 212 UW student-athletes to achieve that prestigious honor for the 2022-23 academic year.
•Cross country runner Katelyn Mitchem earned the NCAA Elite 90 honor at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships as the top scholar-athlete participating at the championship. After completing the outdoor track and field season, Mitchem was also named the 2023 Mountain West Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
•In back-to-back NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2018 and 2019, Wyoming student-athlete Christopher Henry earned the NCAA Elite 90 Award at the NCAA Championships. That award goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals of one of the NCAA’s 90 national championships.
Revenue Generation/Facilities
•Burman has spearheaded over $120 million in facilities projects during his time as athletics director, including: construction of a new $11 million Indoor Practice Facility (Fall 2007); construction of the $22 million Wildcatter Stadium Club & Suites addition to War Memorial Stadium (Fall 2010); extensive renovations to the east side of War Memorial Stadium; significant upgrades to the UniWyo Sports Complex for volleyball and wrestling; completion of a new $3 million Indoor Tennis Facility (Spring 2011); a new $1.2 million golf practice facility (Summer 2014); and Phase I and II of a $30 million renovation to the Arena-Auditorium that was completed in the fall of 2017.
•The new Mick and Susie McMurry High Altitude Performance Center was completed in the summer of 2018 and provides all UW student-athletes with a world-class training facility. The $44 million facility was funded by $24 million in private donations and $20 million in matching funds from the state of Wyoming that were allocated with the support from the Wyoming State Legislature and then Gov. Matt Mead.
•In November of 2017, the Cowboy Joe Club, the fundraising organization for the University of Wyoming Athletics Department, announced that it had reached the 5,000-member plateau, making it the largest annual athletics scholarship fund membership in the Mountain West Conference.
•Wyoming Athletics shattered its annual fundraising record in the 2015-16 fiscal year as $20.4 million in pledges and gifts were made to UW Athletics. That broke the previous record of $12.8 million in pledges and gifts to UW Athletics that was also set during Burman’s tenure as A.D. in the 2013-14 fiscal year.
•Cowboy Joe Club annual revenue grew from $2.1 million in 2006 to over $6 million as of the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year.
•In 2011, season-ticket sales for Wyoming Football surpassed the 10,000 season-ticket mark for the first time in school history. That 10,000 season-ticket milestone was reached for only the second time in 2017.
Before becoming A.D. at Wyoming, Burman had previously served as an Associate Athletics Director at UW from 1995-2000. His first position at his alma mater was as Associate Athletics Director for Development, serving as Executive Director of the Cowboy Joe Club from 1995-97. From 1997-2000, Burman was Wyoming’s Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs. During that time period, he was instrumental in raising funds for the $9.4 million Rochelle Athletics Center.
He served as Athletics Director at Portland State University from Sept. 2000 through March 2006. Burman returned to UW in March 2006 as Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement with the UW Foundation, before being selected by President Tom Buchanan as the eighth athletics director in UW history in October 2006.
Burman began his intercollegiate athletics career as Director of Marketing and Promotions (1993-95) at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Before entering a career in college athletics, he worked as a project manager for the sports management company DeWilber & Associates in McLean, Va., from 1990-92.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Wyoming in 1988 and an M.B.A. from Robert Morris University in Coraopolis, Pa., in 1991. Burman is 57 years old, born Jan. 4, 1966.
