Among the many confident, determined, snappy remarks Becky Burke delivered during her introduction to Tucson on Friday, this one stood out the most:
She didn’t want to take the easy path to get here.
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
The new coach of Arizona women’s basketball called it the “unconventional route.” That’s an understatement.
Who even knew Prescott’s Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University had a women’s basketball program?
Which Charleston was that again? Oh, the Division II one in West Virginia.
Burke then coached at USC — neither of the ones you’re thinking of. Try USC Upstate.
Buffalo was her big break before Arizona. Both opportunities were earned. Everywhere she went, Burke won.
Her coach at Louisville, Jeff Walz, could have set her up with an assistant job at a power-conference school.
“I didn’t want him to feed me with a silver spoon because I was a high-level player and I had achieved a lot,” Burke said. “I wanted to grind. I wanted to do it from the ground up. I didn’t want help. I wanted to prove that I could win no matter where I was. ...
Becky Burke, new coach of Arizona women’s basketball, talks during a press conference at McKale Center on April 11, 2025.
“I look back, and I’m proud that Jeff didn’t hand me a job and proud that I earned it. That’s who I am. I want to earn everything I get. I’m gonna earn everything that I get here, as well.
“Nothing’s gonna be handed to us. I’m blue-collar. Roll the sleeves up. That’s what you guys will learn about me.”
Arizona isn’t Buffalo or USC Upstate or Charleston or Embry-Riddle. That doesn’t mean it’ll be easier to win here than at any of those places.
Although Burke’s predecessor, Adia Barnes, raised the profile of UA women’s basketball, the game has changed since Barnes and Aari McDonald led the Wildcats to the national championship game in 2021. The transfer portal and NIL have turned college athletics into a transactional enterprise.
As of Friday, per On3’s Talia Goodman, more than 1,300 women’s basketball players had entered the portal during the current cycle. Arizona, meanwhile, had two scholarship players on its roster.
As the latest exodus occurred under Barnes’ watch, there was so much chatter about “resources” at the UA that you’d think it was Greenland. It was, understandably, a prominent topic Friday. My colleagues and I asked Burke and UA athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois about it every which way.
“I’m very aware of what I walked into,” Burke said. “I’m very aware of the roster situation, and I’m very aware of the support. I wouldn’t choose to be here and be standing in front of you guys if there was not the support needed to help us be competitive this season.”
The issue was raised again. Burke doubled down.
“I would not be here if I wasn’t confident in Desireé and the position that they’re going to put our program in to be successful,” she said. “It’s important that you have things. But I also think you don’t need everything. I’ve never been anywhere where I’ve had the most or the best — and I’m not saying we don’t — but like I said, I prefer it the hard way.
An image of Becky Burke, the new coach of Arizona women’s basketball team, is projected on the video board inside McKale Center on April 11, 2025.
“We’re going to get it done. We’re going to find a way. I’m going to roll my sleeves up and figure it out. But the support is there, the vision is there and the conversations have been had.”
Later, with the cameras turned off, Burke was asked about being able to land the type of players programs such as deep-pocketed TCU have signed in recent portal cycles. The Horned Frogs’ haul this year includes Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles, whom 247Sports ranks as the second-best player in the portal.
“That’s the plan,” Burke said. “Are they a little bit further along in their journeys as head coaches at their universities than we are right now? Yes. I expect to be right in those conversations in our next couple recruiting cycles.
“At this moment, would it be difficult? Yeah, I’ll be fully transparent with you.”
Fair enough. Burke deserves some time. This isn’t Brent Brennan inheriting a 10-3 team with a roster featuring Noah Fifita, Tetairoa McMillan and Jonah Savaiinaea. External expectations will be set to medium, at the most, in Year One.
Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois talks about Becky Burke, new coach of the women’s basketball team, during a press conference at McKale Center on April 11, 2025.
Whether Arizona will be able to compete with the nation’s best in the resource realm remains to be seen. Reed-Francois insisted that “there’s a little bit of a misperception” about UA women’s basketball when it comes to financial support. She said Arizona is No. 1 in the Big 12 in assistant-coach pay and in the top third in operating budget and NIL/revenue-sharing — despite initial indications that women’s basketball will get only 2% of the rev-share pie.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Reed-Francois during her 13-plus months as athletic director, it’s that she never shows up unprepared. She knew those questions were coming.
She also knew she’d likely be looking for a new women’s basketball coach with Barnes’ contract situation becoming untenable. Reed-Francois was ready to act.
“We had a list going,” she told me. “Once we got the official word, we set up phone calls, then we set up Zooms, then we had in-person (interviews) — and had background checks going simultaneously on all the different candidates.”
Former Wildcat Sam Thomas attended the press conference to announce Becky Burke as the new coach of Arizona women’s basketball at McKale Center on April 11, 2025.
Reed-Francois formed a search committee that included recent UA standout Sam Thomas, who flew in from Kansas City, Missouri, to attend Burke’s introduction. Reed-Francois knew Thomas’ older sister, Bailey, from UNLV. That’s how Reed-Francois got Sam’s number. Shrewd move.
Burke clearly made a positive impression on all parties. Her energy and eagerness were evident when she met the media. After the news conference, she told us that she started reaching out to players “before my voicemail was changed.”
Even if she can’t offer as much money as some of her counterparts, Burke can promise something to any talented player who signs with Arizona for 2025-26: Playing time.
“The best thing about not having a roster,” Burke said, “is there’s a lot of minutes available.”
Nowadays, one might call that pitch unconventional.
