Burns is in his 8th season as an Associate Head Coach for Texas A&M-Commerce, bringing with him over 25 years of coaching and teaching experience. The program is coming off a 9th consecutive winning season, finishing In the top half of the conference. During the last 8 years the team have been selected to the NCAA national tournament 4 straight years and advanced to the sweet 16 two times. The program has numerous conference titles, individual All-Americans and Scholar All-Americans throughout this time. For 2022 the Lions athletic programs will move to NCAA Division 1 and begin competition in the Southland Conference. Burns spent the previous 17 seasons as the head coach at Austin College in Sherman, building the Kangaroo program from scratch. He compiled a 176-117-26 (.592) record while leading Austin College to three NCAA tournament berths, the 2000 American Southwest Conference championship and four-straight east division titles. During his time in Sherman, Burns' players accounted for over 100 All-Conference and Academic All-Conference honors. He helped guide the 'Roos to 14-straight winning seasons as well as success in the classroom as his teams consistently boasted a 3.0 GPA or higher. Prior to starting the program at Austin College, Burns spent one season at Stephen's College in Columbia, Missouri, where he also started the Stars' soccer program. He holds his "A" License from the United States Soccer Federation as well as his premier license from the National Soccer Coaches of America. Burns earned his undergraduate degree in Sports and Recreation Studies from Staffordshire University in the United Kingdom. There he was an accomplished player, helping lead Staffordshire to the National Finals. Burns went on to earn his master's degree in Health and Exercise Science from the University of Missouri. Burns' wife Holly is a curriculum coordinator for Sherman ISD and the couple have two children, Jade and McKinlee. He remains active on the pitch, competing in the Dallas Men's Outdoor Premier Soccer League. Paul Burns Associate Head Soccer Coach