Rodney Burkes is in his third year as assistant coach and sprints coach for Utah State’s track & field teams.
In two seasons under Burkes, USU’s sprinters have combined for five all-conference accolades, four berths to the NCAA West First Rounds and a Mountain West title. Overall, athletes coached by Burkes have posted 35 times ranking in the top-10 all-time at USU, including school records in the women’s 400-meter hurdles and 4x400-meter relay.
During the 2024-2025 track and field campaign, Burkes helped coach Utah State sprinters to two All-MW honors and 26 marks that rank in the school’s all-time top 10. Diego Aguirre-Stewart and Ayodele Ojo earned MW silver medals in the indoor 200 meters and outdoor 100 meters, respectively. The pair qualified for the NCAA West First Rounds in the 4x100-meter relay, where they, Daniel Chase and Mathew Hall missed a nationals berth by 0.10 seconds while comprising the only all-freshman relay team at the prelims.
In his first season at USU in 2023-24, Burkes helped Aggie sprinters to six All-MW selections and 12 times in the top 10 of USU’s record book during the indoor and outdoor seasons. Maddie Edwards set the school-record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.22 to become the MW Champion. Edwards and Abbey Bryant (100-meter hurdles) both qualified for the NCAA West First Rounds.
Burkes spent two years as an assistant coach at Southern Nazarene (2022-23). There, he coached the men’s 4x400 meter relay team to all-conference honors in back-to-back seasons, while also guiding six sprinters to individual all-conference accolades.
Prior to his time at SNU, Burkes served as an assistant coach at Illinois State for two seasons (2019-21), where he specialized in sprints, hurdles and relays. There, he coached several all-conference athletes, including outdoor conference champions in both the men's and women's 4x400 meter relay. He also coached a pair of sprinters to Missouri Valley Conference titles while mentoring the sprints group to eight all-league individual performances. While there, he coached NCAA Championship qualifiers in the 100-meter hurdles as the Redbirds broke the conference record for most points ever scored in a championship.
A USA Track and Field Level II certified coach, Burkes spent the 2018 season as a volunteer assistant coach at Oklahoma State. There, he assisted with the men’s and women’s sprints and long sprints. He also assisted the staff with weight room conditioning, functional strength, active recovery and power development for the men’s and women’s sports programs as well as with on-campus recruiting. During his one season with the Cowboys, he helped play a key role in mentoring the school-record breaking women’s 4x400-meter relay team and the men’s and women’s regional qualifying relay squads.
Prior to his stint with the Cowboys, Burkes served as an assistant men’s and women’s track and field coach at Edmond (OK) Memorial High School from 2011-17. While there, he coached 57 state champions and helped the team win six state titles in seven years. He was a four-time Class 6A coach of the year and six-time conference coach of the year. At that same time, Burkes established the Flytime Track Club and coached 24 nationally-ranked athletes, including Penn Relays champion John Teeters.
Burkes started his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, from 2010-11, while also serving as a coach with the Aurora Flyers Track Club from 2004-12.
As a student-athlete at Oklahoma City University, he was a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that qualified for the NAIA National Championships in 2009. He graduated from OCU in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science.
