May 16, 2005

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Camille Burkes has been named an assistant women's basketball coach at UC Santa Barbara, head coach Mark French announced Monday.

Burkes, formerly at the University of California, will begin her tenure on June 1. She fills a void on the Gaucho staff created by assistant coach Tasha McDowell, who left UCSB after four seasons to accept a similar position at the University of Wisconsin. In addition to working primarily with Santa Barbara's post players, the native of Waterloo, Iowa will serve as the program's co-recruiting coordinator alongside fourth-year assistant Carter Shaw and also oversee the Gauchos' academic development.

"Camille will be a great addition to our staff for a number of reasons. She comes from a fellow UC campus, so she's obviously familiar with the type of young women that we want to recruit, both athletically and academically," French stated. "She's also a great fit for our program because of the reasons she coaches; her morality, her ethics, and her family values make her a great role model for our women."

Burkes spent the past five seasons at Cal as an original member of former head coach Caren Horstmeyer's staff, beginning in 1999-00. Her duties included post player development, scouting, camps and community service. As the program's academic coordinator, she helped the Golden Bears attain at least a 3.0 GPA for two-and-a-half years. In addition, Burkes was instrumental in Cal's 2005-06 recruiting class that has been ranked No. 6 nationally and features two Parade All-Americans.

Prior to accepting her position in Berkeley, she spent the 1999-00 season as the head coach of Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wis. In her lone season the Division III school won its conference title with a perfect 8-0 mark. Burkes also gained experience at a pair of high schools in the Madison area. She was the assistant girl's varsity coach at Madison Memorial High School in 1998-99 after serving three years as freshman coach at Middleton High School.

In addition to her experiences as a coach, Burkes was a color analyst for four years during Wisconsin women's basketball games on WHA-TV, the Wisconsin Public Access Channel and Midwest Sports Channel.

Before entering the coaching ranks, Burkes (maiden name Williams) was a standout member of the basketball and track and field teams at Wisconsin from 1991-96. A 6'0" forward, she completed her hoops career ranked among the top-15 UW players in six statistical categories, including points (905), rebounds (508) field goal percentage (.501), free-throws (285) and blocks (54). Known as a defensive specialist, Burkes started from her sophomore season onward and helped the Badgers earn two NCAA Tournament selections. She also earned All-America recognition in the high jump during the 1995 and 1996 outdoor track and field seasons.

"I'm extremely grateful to join such a well-rounded program," Burkes said. "The life-lessons Coach French teaches young women through basketball is something I'm eager to contribute to, and will make me a better coach. I'm also excited to become part of a community that has such strong support for women's basketball."

Burkes - who earned her bachelor's of science in agricultural science administration from Wisconsin in 1996 - lives with her husband Keith and their 13-year-old nephew Watson.