Burrell comes to The Plains after spending the previous 23 years as head coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston, where he led the program to 41 conference championships and coached over 150 All-Americans.
A former world-record holder in the 100-meter dash and a former student-athlete at Houston, Burrell established himself as one of the nation’s premier coaches. In over two decades of Burrell’s leadership, Houston had over 155 NCAA All-Americans and a combined 41 team conference championships.
He was named C-USA Coach of the Year 23 times and American Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year 11 times. In recognition of his outstanding career as a world-class sprinter and collegiate coach, Burrell was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2019.
Burrell first gained track and field’s national spotlight when he earned All-America honors as a senior at Penn Wood High School in Lansdowne, Pa. in 1985. He was named the Eastern Track Athlete of the Year after single-handedly winning the 1985 Class 3A State Championship. Burrell scored all of Penn Wood’s 40 points when he won the 100m, 200m, long jump and triple jump at the state meet.
In 1985-86, he broke Houston’s freshman long jump record, previously held by Carl Lewis, when he leaped 26’-9” at a dual meet against UCLA in 1986.
In 1989, he won the NCAA Indoor Championship in the long jump with a leap of 26’-5.50”. At the 1989 NCAA Outdoor meet, he set the meet record with a personal best jump of 27’-5.50”. But, Ohio State’s Joe Greene recorded a wind-aided mark of 27’ 7.25” to win the event, and left Burrell with a record-setting second-place finish.
Two weeks later, Burrell rebounded at the USA Outdoor Championships at Houston’s Robertson Stadium. He won the 100m in 9.94 seconds, which was the fastest time ever recorded by a collegian. He also teamed with Carl Lewis, Danny Everett and current UH assistant coach Floyd Heard to set a world record in the 4x200m relay with a time of 1:19.38.
After completing his collegiate eligibility, Burrell beat Carl Lewis for the first time on July 23, 1990, when he won the 100m in 10.05 seconds at the Goodwill Games in Seattle. He was ranked as the world’s top sprinter in 1990 and 1991 after winning 19 of his 22 races in the 100m.
Burrell and Lewis joined forces in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, where they combined with Mike Marsh and Dennis Mitchell to win the gold medal and set a new world record with a time of 37.40 seconds. Burrell also had a fifth-place finish in the 100m at the Olympic Games.
In 1998, Burrell announced his retirement as the American record holder in the 100m and was selected to succeed his collegiate coach and USTCA Hall of Fame coach Tom Tellez.
A former world-record holder in the 100-meter dash and a former student-athlete at Houston, Burrell established himself as one of the nation’s premier coaches. In over two decades of Burrell’s leadership, Houston had over 155 NCAA All-Americans and a combined 41 team conference championships.
He was named C-USA Coach of the Year 23 times and American Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year 11 times. In recognition of his outstanding career as a world-class sprinter and collegiate coach, Burrell was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2019.
Burrell first gained track and field’s national spotlight when he earned All-America honors as a senior at Penn Wood High School in Lansdowne, Pa. in 1985. He was named the Eastern Track Athlete of the Year after single-handedly winning the 1985 Class 3A State Championship. Burrell scored all of Penn Wood’s 40 points when he won the 100m, 200m, long jump and triple jump at the state meet.
In 1985-86, he broke Houston’s freshman long jump record, previously held by Carl Lewis, when he leaped 26’-9” at a dual meet against UCLA in 1986.
In 1989, he won the NCAA Indoor Championship in the long jump with a leap of 26’-5.50”. At the 1989 NCAA Outdoor meet, he set the meet record with a personal best jump of 27’-5.50”. But, Ohio State’s Joe Greene recorded a wind-aided mark of 27’ 7.25” to win the event, and left Burrell with a record-setting second-place finish.
Two weeks later, Burrell rebounded at the USA Outdoor Championships at Houston’s Robertson Stadium. He won the 100m in 9.94 seconds, which was the fastest time ever recorded by a collegian. He also teamed with Carl Lewis, Danny Everett and current UH assistant coach Floyd Heard to set a world record in the 4x200m relay with a time of 1:19.38.
After completing his collegiate eligibility, Burrell beat Carl Lewis for the first time on July 23, 1990, when he won the 100m in 10.05 seconds at the Goodwill Games in Seattle. He was ranked as the world’s top sprinter in 1990 and 1991 after winning 19 of his 22 races in the 100m.
Burrell and Lewis joined forces in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, where they combined with Mike Marsh and Dennis Mitchell to win the gold medal and set a new world record with a time of 37.40 seconds. Burrell also had a fifth-place finish in the 100m at the Olympic Games.
In 1998, Burrell announced his retirement as the American record holder in the 100m and was selected to succeed his collegiate coach and USTCA Hall of Fame coach Tom Tellez.
A 1991 UH graduate with a degree in radio and television communications, Burrell was inducted into UH’s Hall of Honor in 2000.
He is married to the former Michelle Finn, an Olympic sprinter. The couple has three children and their eldest son, Cameron, was a member of the Houston Track & Field team, while Josh Burrell was on the Houston football team.