DOVER, Del.- Delaware State University is mourning the death of legendary former track & field/football coach Joe Burden on Oct. 12 in Dover.
A native of Portsmouth, Va., Burden was head coach of the Hornets’ men’s track and field teams from 1971 to 2000. His teams won seven Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships, capturing indoor titles in 1983, ’84, ’86 and ’87; and outdoor crowns in 1976, ’77 and ’92.
Under Burden, dozens of Delaware State athletes earned MEAC and regional individual and relay titles.
Burden product Brad Morris was the first Hornet to earn All-America track and field recognition in the 440-yard dash 1974 and again in 1975.
Delaware State athletes coaches by Burden also set MEAC outdoor records in the pole vault, 440-yard dash, 3200-mter run and three-mile run; and indoor marks in the pole vault, 800-yard run, two-mile and three-mile runs; and the 400-yard relay.
Current Delaware State University men’s track and field/cross country coach Duane Henry, a member of Burden’s early 1980s MEAC championship teams, says his predecessor had a major impact on his life.
“He was not just a great coach, but a teacher and father figure who impacted so many lives,” Henry said of Burden. “He helped build Delaware State into a track and field power in the MEAC and the region. So many of us Hornets wouldn’t be where we are today without him, and he will be sorely missed.”
Burden was a Virginia high school football and track and field standout before enrolling at Iowa State University.
Recognized as Virginia’s first Black high school All-American, he set state scholastic football records with 31 touchdowns and 192 points in a season; and a state track and field long jump record.
Burden graduated from Iowa State in 1962
