Athletic Director Chris Livatino has announced the hiring of Mike Burzawa as the new head football coach for Evanston Township High School.
The school board approved the appointment at its meeting Tuesday. Burzawa will begin his work at ETHS on July 1.
Burzawa, who lives in Bartlett, has won three consecutive Class 4-A IHSA state football championships during his current tenure as head football coach/offensive coordinator at Driscoll Catholic High School in Addison, IL, and four consecutive titles before that as offensive coordinator. His three-year head coaching record is 41-1, and his seven-year record as offensive coordinator is 92-6. He is recognized as creating one of the most high-powered offenses in the history of Illinois high school football, and his teams have broken nine IHSA Class 4A offensive records.
An assistant athletic director and physical education instructor at Driscoll, Coach Burzawa stresses “academics before athletics,” and 98% of his football graduates have gone on to attend college. Intent on creating a “family-team” environment, Burzawa states in his coaching philosophy: “Winning football is about being the best that you can be as an individual and as a teammate on and off the field. As a coach, recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of each athlete is critical in developing their roles on the team, as well as taking pride in the marginal athlete and developing them into better players, and later in life, great men. I believe being a positive role model and demonstrating strong leadership, along with speaking from the heart to convey one’s thoughts and ideas, is the key to victory.”
Burzawa’s predecessor at Driscoll, Coach Tim Racki, said: “A head coach often receives too much credit for wins and too much blame for losses. In my case, I always thought I received too much credit for Driscoll’s football success. That credit belongs to Mike Burzawa. His ability to create a vision, articulate a plan, and follow through…was instrumental in our success on and off the field.”
Burzawa is a 1995 graduate of the University of St. Francis in Joliet, receiving a bachelor’s degree in communications. He was a team captain and four-year letterman in football. As a student himself at Driscoll, he played on the 1991 state championship football team as well as the 1992 Class A state championship baseball team.
In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Burzawa will help coordinate the new System of Support academic program at ETHS as well as do supervisory work in the athletic department and the fitness center. “We are very excited about Coach Burzawa coming to ETHS—and what we think will be the return to the glory days of ETHS football,” said Athletic Director Livatino.