The Burke Family has been more than generous towards Salisbury University.  The financial support has helped numerous programs, but the work of the family as faculty, coaches, staff and students have left their mark even more prominently.  Now, perhaps the biggest Sea Gull fan in the family is being honored in a new endowment. Dedicated to Shari Burke, the late wife of Bill and mother to Keaton, Declan, McKenna and Keegan, a new endowment will be created and bear her name.

The family joined together to create the Shari Burke Coaches Fund Honoring Coach Jim Jones.  The fund, as specified in the official memorandum of understanding, supports the needs of the Salisbury University Coaching Staff for Cross Country and Track & Field.  It is especially in place for professional development, coaching resources and other materials the coaches can use to help hone their craft.  It is of course open to use by the head coach of those programs to meet any team needs.  The family wanted to honor Coach Jones for the impact he had on Declan and Shari while she was battling cancer, in addition to honoring Shari for her love of the Salisbury University Athletic community.

"We are so thankful for the gift from the Burke family to honor Shari Burke," said Jones.  "This gift will allow us to continue to support our student-athletes in pursuit of their goals."

Those who know the family, know their value placed on supporting Salisbury University.  From swimming, track & field, cross country, entrepreneurship, information systems, the Perdue School of Business and the College of Health and Human Services, the Burke Family has always supported SU.

Bill is a faculty member in the Perdue School of Business at SU.  Specializing in Information Systems and Operations Management, Bill served as the Executive Director of Entrepreneurship, leading the now famous Shore Hatchery competition and the design and development of the Dave and Patsy Rommel Center for Entrepreneurship.  He is well-respected and well-liked by his students and fellow staff and faculty members.

Keaton is Bill and Shari's oldest son, a class of 2019 graduate. He swam for the Gulls and is now the Assistant Coach on the red-hot Salisbury University Swim Team.  McKenna is a 2021 SU Nursing graduate and now a nurse at York Hospital.  She is married to Keegan O'Donnell, also a 2021 SU graduate in accounting and is a CPA and Senior Accountant at Ecosystem Investment Partners in Baltimore.  Declan was a standout distance runner on Cross County and the Track and Field team and a 2025 graduate majoring in Mathematics with Actuarial Science track with minors in fraud/forensic accounting, finance, statistics and data science. Declan is a Grant Auditor at Ibility LLC and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence at Villanova University. 

But while SU is tied to the Burke family forever, perhaps none loved it as much as Shari.

Always cheering on the Gulls in the classroom, pool and on the track, Shari was an active fan, volunteer, and extra set of hands like any supportive mother.  And like a good mom, she cheered for her children's teammates like they were her own.  Especially the student-athletes who's loved ones couldn't make it down to see them compete.  That is when she cheered even louder. 

In April of 2022, just two months before Shari would pass away from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, she was seated in her wheelchair outside the track and field complex cheering on Declan in the 1,500-meter run.  Positioned under the tree on the hill at the 200-meter mark, she cheered him each lap around, encouraging him to finish strong.  He did just that, moving past numerous other runners to secure points for this team, and achieving a new personal best time.  That day she was cheering loudly with the same level of intensity and enthusiasm as she did before she was diagnosed with cancer.

In recent years the Burke Family sponsored a bench and plaque which installed where Shari cheered that day which reads, "In Celebration of Shari Burke:  Shari was a proud Sea Gull Mom who cheered for her children and especially those who didn't have anyone there to cheer for them.  Parental support of all participants is crucial to success during competition and beyond."  Each meet, Coach Jones, who is inspired by Shari, Declan and the family, reads an announcement about that very bench.  Jones even named the men's 1,500-meter race in honor of Shari Burke and encourages everyone to cheer for each student-athlete, just like Shari did in the last race she was able to watch Declan run.

While Shari was battling cancer, Coach Jones wrote her several letters keeping her updated-on Declan's progress and comforting her with the knowledge that he, his staff and the team were supporting Declan during his first year as she was fighting cancer.  Shari cherished those letters until the day she passed; her family cherishes them now.

Now, in honor of Shari, and Coach Jones's unwavering support of each student-athlete he coaches, the family has created the fund bearing both their names.



 "Shari was a person that gave to others, supporting her children and other children.  This gift will continue in the future what Shari did each day during her life.  We are thankful for the continued support of the Burke family and this gift to honor the memory of Shari Burke," added Jones.

To honor Shari and Coach Jones with a contribution, or learn more about the The Shari Burke Coaches Fund Honoring Coach Jim Jones, click here.  To support Salisbury University Athletics and its 23 varsity programs, contact Stan Bradley at sbradley@salisbury.edu.