Poplar native and Northwestern High School graduate Tom Burke has been selected to join the UW Athletic Hall of Fame, the university's athletic department announced Monday, June 22 .
Burke was a defensive lineman for the Badgers from 1995-98. During his senior season, he set Big Ten records with 22 sacks and 31 tackles for loss, according to UW Athletics. He was a unanimous first-team All-American selection in 1998, as well as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-Big Ten selection.
The team capped off Burke's senior season with the 1998 Big Ten Championship and a victory in the 1999 Rose Bowl.
He went on to play for the Arizona Cardinals from 1999-2002.
Burke is among eight former Badgers to be selected for the 2020 UW Athletic Hall of Fame so far. The athletic department started unveiling the honorees June 15 and will continue to announce them through Friday, June 26.
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One of Burke's former teammates, offensive lineman Aaron Gibson, is also in this year's Hall of Fame class. Other inductees include Richard Bartman, boxing; John Byce, men's hockey and baseball; Ted Kellner, special service; Carla MacLeod, women's hockey; Mike Wilkinson, men's basketball; and Jackie Zoch, women's rowing.
UW Athletics is tentatively planning to host an induction ceremony in September, said Jessica Burda Leslie, a UW Athletics spokesperson, in an email. Details of the event are still being determined.
