Winning pays off, particularly for the UB women’s basketball program and head coach Becky Burke.
Signed to a contract extension in May, Burke will receive a pay raise of more than $25,000 as she enters her third season as the Bulls’ coach.
The terms of Burke’s contract extension, obtained by The Buffalo News from UB through a Freedom of Information Law request, state that Burke will make an annual base salary of $215,014. She’ll receive a pay raise of $25,014. Her original contract terms stated that she earned an annual base salary of $190,000, plus additional annual compensation of $60,000.
The structure of Burke’s termination terms also have changed. If UB terminates Burke between now and April 4, 2025, the school would owe her $500,000 – up $100,000 from the terms of the contract extension in September – and that total would drop after April 5 of each year by $100,000, through the end of the contract.
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Burke and UB agreed to the new contract terms May 15, and her current contract runs through April 4, 2029.
UB originally announced Burke’s second contract extension May 30, but did not initially release the terms of the extension. UB hired Burke in April 2022, and she received her first contract extension in September 2023, which had no changes to Burke’s salary or buyout terms, but amended the contract to include a bonus structure for a potential Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament appearance by the Bulls.
University at Buffalo head coach Becky Burke will get a raise with her most recent contract extension.
Burke is 31-30 overall and 17-19 in the Mid-American Conference in two seasons at UB.
The Bulls were 19-14 and 10-8 in the MAC last season and lost to Kent State in the MAC Tournament championship game. The Bulls earned a berth in the WNIT and lost to Monmouth in a first-round game in March.
The Bulls are set up for success as Burke enters her third season as head coach. UB returns guard Chellia Watson, who was fourth in the nation in scoring last season (23 points per game) and was a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American honorable mention selection, as well as Kirsten Lewis-Williams, a sophomore guard and the MAC’s Freshman of the Year.
Five players from this year’s roster entered the transfer portal, but UB will add five transfers from Division I programs, including former Lake Shore standout Noelani Cornfield (Southern Mississippi), one junior-college transfer and four incoming freshmen, including center Brianna Barr-Buday, a Nichols School graduate and a Buffalo News All-Western New York selection.
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