David Burger
Dave Burger Cross Country and Track Coach
Dave Burger proved to bet the most successful Men's Cross Country and Track Coach in the storied history of Cleveland State Athletics. Burger's devotion to the sport was seen in his resuscitation of a program that had bee eliminated after the 1957 season.
The 1959 Otterbein College graduate had come to CSU from Western Reserve University (now CWRU), where he had served as assistant track coach.
The growing pains of building a program from scratch didn't deter Burger, who remembers, "We had no money for scholarships at that time. I had all `walk-on' athletes."
From those humble beginnings, would shape Cleveland State into a strong contender for years to come. The first example came in 1968, when CSU Hall of Famer Al Flores won the NCAA high jump championship, the university's first national champion in any sport.
Another highlight came in 1973, when another CSU Hall of Famer, Curt Tesar, cam in third in the decathlon at the 1973 national college division championships.
All told, during Burger's 28 years at the helm of the SCU track program, the Viking stalwart would take athletes to NCAA championships 11 times, further indication that the leadership shown by Burger enhanced both the athletes and the university.
As successful as Burger was coaching CSU track, the Columbus, Ohio, native achieve even more glory with the Viking Cross Country program. The SCU Viking program was inaugurated in 1966; the year after Burger launched the Track program.
The pinnacle for Burger cam in 1976, when his squad became only the second CSU team in any sort to go undefeated, posting a pristine 10-0 record for the season.
That 1976 team would be the first of three consecutive squads to win All-Ohio Championships, further cementing Burger's name in Ohio Cross Country history.
The following year, Burger would coach a runner who would become known as his "Big Man." Marc Hunter, a 1995 CSU Hall of Famer, became the number one American-born collegiate cross country runner that year. Hunter would go on to achieve All-American honors three times under the tutelage of Burger, only the second SCU athlete ever to do so.
Burger's 1977 and 1979 teams would finish in the NCAA Top 20, with the 1979team led by All-American Done James. During that season, Burger's squad went on to capture the Cleveland College championship; one of eight times the Viking would grab that honor.
During the final season of the program in 1992, Burger's squad saluted him in fine fashion by capturing CSU's first-ever team conference championship, whining the Med-Continent Conference title. The 1992 squad, nicknamed, "The Posse," was led by Pat Joyce, one of five seniors on the team to garner all-conference honors. Burger said, "We knew we'd have a good team, but we had no margin of error."
A fine athlete in his own right, Burger lettered in five different sports in high school. In addition to coaching, Burger has instructed runners in Cambodia, Haiti, and Greece.
