Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3:48 p.m. Saturday to include Burno’s annual salary.
DeKALB — NIU and men’s basketball head coach Rashon Burno are parting ways after five losing seasons with the Huskies. Athletic director Sean Frazier announced in a release Saturday that Burno has resigned from his position.
The move comes less than 24 hours after NIU ended yet another disappointing season. The Huskies fell to Akron in their season finale on Friday night to finish 9-21 overall and 4-14 in the Mid-American Conference, marking a second straight last-place finish in the league standings and the program’s third consecutive year missing the MAC Tournament.
“We thank Coach Burno for his efforts leading our men’s basketball program over the past five seasons.” Frazier said in the release. “Under his leadership, our men’s basketball program has excelled academically, and we appreciate the commitment to our student-athletes and wish him all the best going forward.”
Burno, 48, was in the final year of a five-year contract that earned him $350,000 annually and expires June 30. He compiled a 48-106 overall record and a 26-66 mark in conference play during his time in DeKalb — never posting a winning season — and led the Huskies to one MAC Tournament appearance in 2022-23.
“I would like to thank Sean Frazier and President Freeman for the opportunity to lead the NIU men’s basketball program, after deliberation with my family, I have decided to step away to explore other opportunities,” Burno said.
Formerly an assistant under Bobby Hurley at Arizona State, Burno was hired in March 2021 to replace Mark Montgomery. Burno opened his tenure with an upset victory over Washington but went on to finish his first season with a 9-21, 6-14 MAC record.
NIU improved to 13-19 the following season and earned its first conference tournament berth since the COVID-canceled 2020 tournament. The Huskies entered as the No. 7 seed and were promptly eliminated by second-seeded Kent State in the opening round.
The ensuing 2023-24 campaign got off to a hot start, as NIU won five of its first six games and took a halftime lead against Big Ten foe Northwestern. However, the season quickly unraveled from there. The Huskies won just six more games the rest of the way to finish 11-20 and 5-13 in the MAC — second-to-last in the conference.
In 2024-25, NIU experienced its worst season under Burno, posting a 6-25 record and going 2-16 against MAC opponents. The Huskies notched just three wins against Division I competition and finished the year near the bottom of the NCAA Evaluation Tool — aka the NET — rankings.
Burno leaves DeKalb as the school’s fourth-losingest head coach, winning just 31.2% of his games.
NIU has hired CSA Search & Consulting to lead the search for its 30th head coach. Executive Associate Athletic Director Courtney Vinson, the school’s sport administrator for men’s basketball, will have daily oversight of the program in the interim.
Before taking the NIU job, Burno spent six seasons with the Sun Devils and helped the team to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. He also served as an assistant coach for three seasons at Florida (2012-15) under current Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan. Burno began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Manhattan College during the 2011-12 season.
