Cheryl Burnett

Former Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett has returned to Missouri State, this time in marketing position to help promote the teams move to a new arena:

Burnett is working with the marketing department to help sell Lady Bears season-ticket packages and to develop other promotions. MSU president Mike Nietzel said she also would be involved in fund-raising for the entire athletic department.

Nietzel said he has not thought about whether Burnett's three-month, part-time contract will be extended when it expires in mid-November.

She is apparently no longer interested in coaching:

Burnett said she is not interested in returning to coaching. She retired as a coach in March 2007 after four seasons at Michigan and has been a consultant to women's basketball coaches and programs since.

"I feel blessed to have coached for 30 years, and I felt it was the best life one could have," Burnett said last week. "But it's a life where you're working seven days a week, 16-hour days, 365 days a year. I loved it, but now I want to leave that part to someone else."

Update: Apparently Cheryl Burnett's name is being mentioned in rumors about the Athletic Director position at Missouri State:

The next director of athletics at Missouri State will be someone capable of wearing several hats. So, it's probably a good thing, MSU President Mike Nietzel said, that the school can take its time filling Bill Rowe's position.

Rowe, 68, announced Thursday that he is retiring, effective in June, after 27 years as director of athletics.

Nietzel said a national search would begin in October and a replacement will be named next spring.

Some names, including former MSU women's basketball coach Cheryl Burnett, have been circulating. Burnett did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

And from an interview with Jackie Stiles:

Q: Cheryl Burnett has been mentioned in the local rumor mill as a potential candidate for the athletic director position. Do you think she would be a good candidate?

A: "I think, basically, she can be good at whatever she chooses to do in the next phase of her life and career. There is not a harder worker. She works so hard and is so dedicated to whatever it is she's doing. She's very smart, so she could be successful at whatever she chooses because she's going to outwork everyone."