Adam Burken was named Cornell College's head strength and conditioning coach in October 2010.

Burken is a 2009 graduate of the University of Dubuque. He was a four-year football letterwinner and two-time all-conference tight end for the Spartans. Burken played all four seasons for Vince Brautigam, now head football coach at Cornell.

Burken was on Dubuque's sports medicine staff for two years. He earned a bachelor's degree in science and is pursuing his master's.

Burken served as a personal trainer for Quad Cities Acceleration during the past year. He worked with multiple semi-professional teams in the Quad Cities, including arena football's Quad City Steamwheelers. Burken also assisted with club hockey, Augustana College volleyball and St. Ambrose University football, among others.

"I do not believe the weight room and training staff are separate entities of the other aspects involving collegiate athletics. Strength and conditioning is an extension of our student-athletes and coaches and what one should expect out of an athlete each time they step onto the playing surface.

"With a greater emphasis on sport-specific movements, our student-athletes get as much reward out of the weight room as they will when they are training as a team in our arena. Our goal as a strength and conditioning staff is to best emulate explosive multi-directional movements that will occur during the course of competition. We will work toward improving the performance of our student-athletes each and every time they compete."