NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Jeff Bovee announced the hiring of Rodney Burkes as the sprints/hurdles/relays coach Tuesday. Burkes joins the Redbird staff after spending the previous season as a volunteer assistant coach at Oklahoma State, and will replace Brenton Emanuel who left the staff to take over as head coach at Eastern Illinois.
Burkes brings several years of collegiate, prep and club experience with him to the Illinois State track and field program, which was named the MVC program of the year in 2018 after sweeping the men's and women's title indoors and claiming the women's title outdoors.
"Coach Burkes is an Illinois native with strong recruiting ties throughout the Midwest. He has Division I coaching experience in the Big 12 conference and has also worked with several professional athletes out of his club team in Oklahoma," Bovee said. "Throughout the coaching search, it became clear that Rodney was the right person for this particular opportunity to help us compete for more Valley championships in the future."
Burkes is a USA Track and Field Level II certified coach, and during his time at Oklahoma State assisted with the men's and women's sprints and long sprints. He also assisted the staff with weight room conditioning, functional strength, active recovery and power development for the men's and women's sports programs as well as with on-campus recruiting. During his one season with the Cowboys, he helped play a key role in mentoring the school-record breaking women's 4x400-meter relay team and the men's and women's regional qualifying relay squads.
"First, I would like to thank God, Coach Bovee and the Illinois State staff for this opportunity," Burkes said. "I am truly humbled and blessed to be a part of such a respected track and field program at a school that values each student's education. It feels great to have the opportunity to represent the Redbird brand, and uphold the core values of this institution. I plan to bring a personal approach to coaching by focusing on individual strengths and weaknesses. I believe this type of awareness enhances an athlete's confidence and overall performance."
Prior to his stint with the Cowboys, Burkes served as an assistant men's and women's track and field coach at Edmond Memorial High School from 2011-17. While there, he coached 57 state champions and helped the team win six state titles in seven years. He was a four-time Class 6A coach of the year and six-time conference coach of the year. At that same time, Burkes established the Flytime Track Club and coached 24 nationally-ranked athletes from 2012 to the present including Penn Relays champion John Teeters.
Burkes started his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at the College of DuPage in 2010-11, while also serving as a coach with the Aurora Flyers Track Club from 2004-12. As a student-athlete at Oklahoma City University, he was a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that qualified for the NAIA National Championships in 2009. He graduated from OCU in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science.
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