MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Mike Burgomaster has been awarded the 2018 Managers on a Mission Graduate Assistant of the Year, the organization announced.
Burgomaster served as a graduate assistant for one-and-a-half years before being elevated to assistant director of operations during the middle of the 2017-18 campaign.
"I was really pleased to be able to nominate Mike for this recognition," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "He is a great example of paying your dues, living your dreams and making a real impact in the lives of student-athletes.
"On our staff, we do not worry about titles. I value every man's opinion on my staff. Mike has a great basketball mind, a great work ethic and a great character."
Burgomaster is entering his third year at Auburn and his second in his current role of assistant director of operations.
Where Burgomaster goes, winning usually follows.
The 2017-18 season was a banner year for the program as the Tigers won the 2018 Southeastern Conference title behind a 26-8 record, including 13-5 in conference play. It was Auburn's third league crown in program history (1960, 1999, 2018).
The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003 and earned the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region. Auburn defeated College of Charleston for its eighth-straight NCAA Tournament with at least one win, tied for Syracuse for the fourth-longest active streak in the country.
The Tigers ended the season ranked 19th in the final Associated Press poll. It was the first time Auburn has ended the season ranked in the final AP poll since 2000 when it closed the campaign at No. 24.
Burgomaster arrived on The Plains from the University of Miami. While with the Hurricanes, he was a student manager for three years before being promoted to head manager in his fourth season. Burgomaster had a key hand in many areas under head coach Jim Larrañaga including player development, video coordination, camps, on-campus recruiting and analytics. He also was in charge of equipment.
During Burgomaster's tenure, Miami went to two Sweet Sixteens in 2013 and 2016 and also won both the ACC regular season and tournament championships in 2013.
Burgomaster earned his master's degree in business administration from Auburn University in December of 2017. The Westford, Mass. native received his bachelor of arts in finance from the University of Miami.