Ex-Pack star Burden professor in athletics

Willie Burden is 57 years old and has slowed his pace to a walk now and easy strolls around the Georgia Southern campus and scenic golf courses.

But old-timers can still remember when he was a rambling running back at Raleigh's Enloe High, N.C. State, and Calgary in the Canadian Football League.

At every level, Burden gave opposing defensive coordinators the willies.

He won ACC player-of-the-year honors in 1973 after gaining 1,014 yards, then had a distinguished pro career with Calgary's Stampeders from 1974 through 1981.

His CFL achievements included a most-outstanding-player award in 1975 -- when he rushed for 1,896 yards -- induction into the league's Hall of Fame in 2001 and recognition as one of the top 50 players in Canada's contemporary era.

Now he's Dr. Willie Burden in his 11th year as a professor of sports management at Georgia Southern.

"I'm enjoying this; I've always enjoyed being around college athletics," Burden said.

He cited coaches such as George Thompson at Enloe, and Earle Edwards, Al Michaels and Lou Holtz at N.C. State among the influential men in his development.

Burden's association with then-N.C. State athletic director Willis Casey and former associate Wolfpack AD Frank Weedon sparked his interest in athletic administration.

In addition to teaching and playing golf, Burden and his wife, Velma, enjoy watching their sons play football.

Willie Jr. is a senior all-region defensive end for undefeated Statesboro High and has attracted interest from several schools, including Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. His brother, Freddie, is a freshman, playing second string tackle and tight end. Sister Courtney is an accountant in Raleigh.

"I'm a fan now,'' Willie Burden said, noting that his knees are "creaking." "We live for watching our sons play and then listening to them tell me players of my era didn't know what football was all about."

Burden laughed that same rich laugh he used to unleash at State, where he was a happy halfback who scored TDs -- and several years later went on to get his doctorate at Tennessee State.