Bethann Burke was appointed Maritime College’s 12th Director of Athletics in October 2026. She came to Fort Schuyler after a decade of coaching and athletics leadership at Goldey-Beacom College. Burke was most recently Goldey-Beacom’s Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator, as well as the head coach of the Lightning’s women’s basketball program.
While at Goldey-Beacom, she helped oversee an athletic department serving more than 265 student-athletes across 13 varsity sports. Her responsibilities included student-athlete academic success, sport and staff supervision, coach development, and collaboration with academic departments and campus partners. Burke was also involved in strengthening systems for monitoring academic progress and connecting student-athletes with support. Goldey-Beacom was tied for 12th nationally among Division II schools in Academic Success Rate during her tenure.
The winningest coach in Goldey-Beacom women’s basketball history, she compiled 127 wins as the Lightning’s mentor. Her teams made multiple Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Tournament appearances, reaching the semifinals in 2019 and 2024. In 2014, Burke guided Goldey-Beacom to the ECAC Championship Game. She coached numerous All-CACC and CACC All-Academic honorees, including the program’s first-ever CACC Rookie of the Year.
Burke’s teams were also successful in the classroom. In 2025-26, the Lightning posted a team GPA of 3.79, which was the eighth-best nationally among Division II programs, and earned a place on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. Goldey-Beacom also made the Honor Roll in 2024-25, ranking 22nd.
She served three terms on the NCAA Women’s Basketball East Regional Advisory Committee. Burke also contributed to the CACC Hall of Fame and Championship committees.
In addition, she taught sport management classes at Goldey-Beacom for more than a decade. Burke developed courses in Women In Sport and The Art of Coaching, bringing her experience as a coach and administrator into the classroom.
Before joining Goldey-Beacom, she spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Holy Family University. During that span, the Tigers went 108-18 overall, made four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, and won back-to-back CACC titles (2012, 2013). Burke began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at the University of Pennsylvania for one season.
A graduate of Chestnut Hill College, she finished her playing career as the second-leading scorer in program history with 1,174 career points. Burke was a three-year team captain, and she helped the Griffins make their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the 2005 Atlantic Women’s Colleges Conference championship.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Secondary Education from Chestnut Hill, Burke earned a Master’s degree in Education from Cabrini College. She and her husband, Dan, the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Wilmington University, have two daughters.
