After leading the Northern Arizona University men’s basketball team to 16 wins–the program’s most in five years–Shane Burcar, current NAU men’s basketball interim head coach, was announced as the 26th head coach in program history by Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Marlow.
“NAU Basketball is on the rise, and our objective in this search was to find the best possible coach to lead our program into the future,” Marlow said. “We were looking for a person with great work ethic, a deep commitment to the holistic development of the student-athlete, love of the game and an inspiring vision for NAU Basketball.”
Burcar served as NAU’s interim head coach during the 2019-20 season and led the Lumberjacks to their best campaign since the 2014-15 season. The Lumberjacks finished 16-14 overall and 10-10 in conference play.
“Despite broad interest from outstanding coaches throughout the western United States and beyond, at the end of the day, Shane Burcar exhibited the most impassioned and thoughtful vision for Lumberjack Basketball,” Marlow said. “I could not be more excited to announce that Shane emerged as our top choice.”
As a well-respected coach in the Phoenix area, Burcar arrived in Flagstaff after a successful 12-year tenure as the head coach at Mesa High School. He guided the Jackrabbits to a 277-110 record and coached them to win the 2016 Arizona DI State Championship. His teams won seven regular-season regional championships, qualified for the state tournament 10 times and made two Final Four appearances.
“I first want to say thank you to Mike Marlow,” Burcar said. “I know there were a lot of candidates and interest in this job, and he had vision for thinking outside the box to get the right person. I also want to thank President Cheng for her belief in me. I’ve always worked for people who want to be successful and want to win, and the university is in a great position to be successful athletically.”
The full press release can be found online.