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Kevin Burch after helping guide Springfield to a NCAA Division III championship will now join the coaching staff of the defending NCAA Division I champions.
UC Irvine announced Friday that it hired Burch to be an assistant coach for the upcoming season.
Burch in his second men’s volleyball college coaching position was named the 2012 AVCA Division III National Assistant Coach of the Year as he helped Springfield win the inaugural Division III NCAA title with a 33-5 record. Before arriving at Springfield, Burch was also a volunteer assistant coach at Ohio State in 2011.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to join this special program,” Burch said in a statement. “UC Irvine has everything — the location, the people, the values plus elite volleyball. Add top-ranked academics and UCI is a perfect place for an athlete to compete.”
This is the second coaching staff decision made by Anteaters head coach David Kniffin. The new head coach also retained Mark Presho as an assistant coach for the 2013 season.
Kniffin became the Anteaters’ head coach in July and replaced John Speraw, who left UC Irvine to become the head coach at UCLA.
Speraw in his final season with the Anteaters led the program to its third NCAA championship in the last six years.
Burch joining UC Irvine will continue a family tradition of being involved in UC Irvine athletics. Burch’s father as a triple jumper helped lead the Anteaters track and field team to a national championship in 1976.