Two offices, two jobs for new NWC athletic director

Posted 7/28/15

It took him 21 years before he actually landed at NWC from the Monterey Peninsula in California. 

The job description has changed dramatically with the years, but Steve Burmaster is gratified to finally be at Northwest College and to call …

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Two offices, two jobs for new NWC athletic director

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Steve Burmaster heads athletics and P.E. departments

In 1994, he had Wyoming license plates on his red Chevy truck, and his course was set for a coaching position at Northwest College in Powell.

It took him 21 years before he actually landed at NWC from the Monterey Peninsula in California. 

The job description has changed dramatically with the years, but Steve Burmaster is gratified to finally be at Northwest College and to call Wyoming home.

Burmaster, who possesses 350 wins as a volleyball coach at the collegiate level, is on the job, or jobs,  at NWC in a non-coaching position. He is settling in as the Director of Athletics and department chair of the Physical Education Department.

He has an office in the Johnson Fitness Center in his capacity as chair of physical education and an office in Cabre Gym where he oversees athletics. 

Gerry  Giraud, interim vice president for student affairs, said the college intentionally hired a non-coach for the position.

“The president felt, and I concurred, that a non-coach would be able to take leadership over a variety of programs without the burden of coaching,” Giraud said. “We wanted someone with coaching experience, and Steve was a highly successful coach.  We have great confidence that Steve will do a superior job.”

The combo job suits Burmaster just fine.

“I feel very fortunate to be right where I want to be,” he said. “I have a passion for physical education, and I have a passion for athletics.”

His near-miss with NWC two decades ago came about after a housing deal went sour.  Burmaster had actually been hired to become the head women’s volleyball coach at NWC and had recruited a roster of players, including three girls from his area in California.  He had ordered practice T-shirts and developed a work-out plan.

“We were ready to roll,” he said.

At the last minute, the sale of his house in Clovis, California, fell through. He relisted it with the realtor, but there were no takers.  He was confronted with the reality that the continued house payment in California wouldn’t cash flow in a move to a new job in Wyoming.

“It was one of those things as a financial piece that I just couldn’t handle,”  Burmaster said. “I also had a responsibility to my family.”

It was August, and he was forced to call Ken Rochlitz, then athletic director at NWC, to back out of the job. Burmaster helped to conclude the last minute hiring of a former assistant of his to coach in his place.

Not following through and coming to Powell was an awful moment in his life, Burmaster said.

“From a coaching standpoint, what do I teach my team?” he asked rhetorically, then   answered. “Loyalty. Stick-to-it-tiveness. Never giving up. And I had to give up.”

After years of coaching, he earned his administrative credentials with separate master’s degrees in physical education and educational leadership at Azusa Pacific University, finishing up in 2012. He was serving as athletic director at Seaside Middle School in Monterey, California, when he saw the Northwest College job posted in January. He applied.

A couple of months later, Floyd Young, retiring head of the P.E. Department and a member of  the search team, called Burmaster in California to say NWC was interested in his candidacy. Young had been on the NWC team that interviewed Burmaster in 1994 because of the P.E. component associated with the women’s volleyball coaching job.

The second chance story line was not lost on Burmaster.

“That day he called me, I had this huge heart of gratefulness and thankfulness because of what Floyd has done here in P.E. and the legacy that Ken Rochlitz has built in athletics,” he said.  “I feel a deep responsibility to do my very best to continue the tradition.” 

Burmaster and his wife, Laura, have a daughter, Grace, 7, and a son, Grant, who will be 6 in September.  They have enjoyed getting acquainted with the community. They attend First Baptist Church.

“We are loving Powell,” Burmaster said.  “We went to the Park County Fair and did the pig wrestling and the rides. We’re members of the Powell Aquatic  Center, and we’re loving that. “

Burmaster has met with coaches in all NWC sports and has established a connection with Tim Wormald, athletic director at Powell High School.

He’s even taken on the pesky problem of mosquitoes at the college soccer fields.  As a solution, NWC is acquiring its own fogger to spray the fields frequently as well as other grounds on campus.

“My goal is to have a positive working relationship with all departments on campus, to make sure we’re living within our budget and to be proactive and creative in our fundraising to build our endowments for the future,” he summarized.

And, yes, he’s still driving the 1988 red Chevy S-10 truck.

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