John Burrell returns for his 10th season as the Head Coach of Western Connecticut State University.

Burrell enters the 2011 campaign with an overall record of 37-53. He moved past legendary Western Coach Paul Pasqualoni (34-17) on the school's all-time win list and begins the season needing two wins to become the Colonials' winningest coach.

Since 1999, the team has compiled a 65-57 overall record. Coach Burrell is proud to have been an integral part of each season during this stretch.

Burrell believes his role as mentor to his players supersedes wins and losses. He is proud of the way his players comport themselves on campus and in the community. The Colonials continue to stand out as positive role models and are highly praised representatives of the University. Most of them are involved in community service projects on and off campus.

Last season, Western was 0-10 overall. A year earlier, Western went 2-8 overall and finished in eighth place in the NJAC with a 2-7 record.

In 2008, the Colonials won two of their first four games but closed out the season on the short end of six straight games. It was only the second time in Burrell's seven-year tenure that his squad dropped more than four straight contests.

In 2007, Western went 4-6 and was 2-5 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference for the second straight year. It marked the first time since 1997 that the Colonials did not finish at least with a .500 record. Even though the team didn't have the kind of success the Colonials are accustomed to, several players received post-season accolades. Senior offensive tackle Tom McDonald led the award winners when he became the first Colonial in team history to be named to the prestigious American Football Coaches Association All-America team. Running back Wayne Neal became the second Colonial in a row to earn the NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Eleven players were named to the NJAC All-Conference Team in 2007.

During his fifth season, Western went 5-5 overall and 2-5 in the NJAC. In 2006, eight Colonials were named to the NJAC All-Conference Team and freshman quarterback James Williams was honored as the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year.

2005 marked the first year that Burrell worked with a complete team of players that he and his staff had recruited. These players worked hard to improve and saw their work ethic pay off with a 6-4 record. They raised the mark from the previous year by improving to fourth in the rugged NJAC. Twelve team and individual records were eclipsed in '05. The 2005 team had 13 players represented on the All-NJAC team.
In 2004, the Colonials struggled to come to terms with the competition of the NJAC. However, thirteen individual or team records were broken by Western's potent spread offense in '04. Western finished the season with a mark of 5-5.

Burrell led the Colonials to a 6-4 overall record and 3-3 mark in the Freedom Football Conference in 2003. In his first campaign as head coach, in 2002, the Colonials had seven wins and three losses. That season, over twenty team or individual records were broken as the Western offense returned to prominence. In 2002 and 2003, the Colonials led the Freedom Football Conference with 14 players voted to the All-FFC team.

Burrell believes strongly in delegating authority and letting his assistants coach. He has built a strong nucleus within his coaching staff and he's excited to welcome Marc Bourque, Dan Loewenberg and Larry Badaracco back to his staff. Loewenberg has been with Coach Burrell since his inaugural season as Head Coach. Three of Burrell's assistants are former Colonial players (Loewenberg, Badaracco and Mike Toscano). Bourque will once again be coordinating the offense while Burrell will resume his duties as Defensive Coordinator. Loewenberg took over the role of special teams coordinator in '08. Burrell will also be coaching the Dogs this season. He served as the Defensive Back Coach at Western from 1997 to 1999 and again from 2005 through 2008.

This will be Burrell's 14th year as a coach at Western Connecticut State University. Prior to his appointment as Head Coach, Burrell coordinated Western's much-heralded defense for four years. During that span, Burrell's defenses were consistently among the best in the nation. In 2000, the defense was ranked number one in NCAA Division III in takeaways (4.37 per game), fourth in pass efficiency defense (70.9 rating), 11th in scoring defense (11.6 points per game) and 12th in total defense (247 yards per game). It was the third consecutive year the Colonials finished as the number one ranked defense in the Freedom Football Conference.

The Middlebury College graduate (B.A. 1992 - American Civilization) enjoyed a productive playing career from 1987 to 1990. He was a two-year varsity letter winner at running back. In 1990, Burrell was awarded the first annual Panther Award, presented to the player who most exemplifies the spirit and integrity of Middlebury football.

Burrell's coaching career started in 1991 at his alma mater. He spent two seasons working under his mentor and former coach, Mickey Heinecken.

In 1995, Burrell was an assistant coach at Ellicottville Central School in Western New York. He graduated from ECS in 1987.

Burrell came to WCSU in 1996 as a graduate assistant and coached the outside linebackers. From 1997 through 1999, he was the defensive backs coach and spent one season as the special teams coordinator. Before his promotion to Head Coach, Burrell spent two years as the lone full-time assistant to current NFL assistant coach Bob Surace. During that time, Burrell had many off the field responsibilities, including recruiting coordinator, academic advisor, faculty liaison and academic advisor.

Burrell is an active member of the American Football Coaches Association. He did chair the AFCA D-III All-America Committee in 2009 and will continue to serve as Co-Chairman on the AFCA Coach of the Year Committee.