Minnesota Athletics Director Joel Maturi announced the hiring of Michael Burns as the new men’s gymnastics coach Monday.
Former coach Fred Roethlisberger retired last month after 33 years with the program, and the job had been vacant since.
Burns comes to the Gophers having been an assistant at Michigan since 1997 and Iowa from 1980 to 1991. He graduated from Penn State in 1981.
“Mike’s background and experience in gymnastics and in the Big Ten conference will be a big asset for our program,” Maturi said in a statement.
While with the Wolverines, Burns was named national assistant coach of the year in 1999 and 2000. He coached five national champions, 37 All-Americans and 14 Big Ten champions during his tenure. And Michigan won a team national title in 1999.
He also coached Team USA at the 2003 Jurassic Classic in Calgary, Alberta, and the 1999 World University Games in Mallorca, Spain.
The Gophers finished fifth in their NCAA qualifier last April in Champaign, Ill.
Roethlisberger retired Aug. 24.
Men’s hockey in polls
Minnesota’s men’s hockey team is ranked sixth and eighth in a pair of preseason college hockey polls released Monday.
In the U.S. College Hockey Online poll, the Gophers are ranked sixth overall and third among WCHA teams, behind Minnesota-Duluth (4) and North Dakota (5).
Minnesota was slotted two spots lower in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll. In that poll, they were behind four conference foes – North Dakota (3), Minnesota-Duluth (5), Wisconsin (6) and defending national champion Denver (7).
Michigan is tops in the online poll, while Boston College holds the top spot in the USA Today poll.
The Gophers open the regular season against the Pioneers in the Hall of Fame Game on Oct. 9 at the Xcel Energy Center.
