David Berkun is in his second season as assistant coach at UIC, joining the staff in April 2024. His primary focus is the Flames' offensive game plan, as well as future game scheduling, sports performance (strength training) and mental performance. He also coordinates the program's international recruiting efforts and collaborates on team travel and creative strategy.
During his first season (2024-25), Berkun played an integral role in producing the program's second-highest scoring offense (76.0 ppg. – fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference) in the past 30 years. For the first time in the program's 78-year history, UIC also topped the 90-point mark in four of its first six games. All told, the Flames finished with a 17-14 record and tied for fifth place in the MVC (the program's first winning record and highest conference finish since 2019-20, prior to joining the MVC). UIC also registered its best regular-season winning percentage (.567) since 2004 and picked up four Quad 1 & 2 wins (second-best in the Valley). What's more, the Flames posted five wins over teams that competed in the postseason, including victories over Drake, Yale, Bradley and Illinois State.
Berkun came to Chicago following eight seasons on the men’s basketball staff at Stanford University, most recently as an assistant coach with the Cardinal following two years as Assistant Athletics Director, Men’s Basketball (2021-23), and two as Director of Operations (2019-21). He also spent time as Director of Player Development (2018-19) and began his career in Palo Alto with two seasons as a men’s basketball intern.
“I had the great fortune of working alongside David at Stanford, where he wore a number of hats for us,” UIC head coach Rob Ehsan noted. “He is extremely organized, creative and thorough, and that versatility will be extremely beneficial to us in so many ways, from recruiting, scouting and analytics, to player development and alumni relations.”
Throughout his eight years at Stanford, Berkun’s responsibilities consistently expanded, with a specific emphasis on scouting, recruiting and analytics. In his operations role, Berkun added oversight of team travel, scheduling of program activities, facilities coordination, alumni development and assisted with scheduling. He also served as the program’s liaison with the department’s facilities, event management, operations and external relations teams, managed team and staff schedules and aided in the program’s Sixth Man initiatives.
In his final three seasons, Berkun helped Stanford to 44 wins, including three against top-five opponents (the program’s first since 2007) and the Cardinal’s first road win over a Top 25 team since 2014. During Berkun’s tenure, Stanford also produced its first Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year since 2000 (Harrison Ingram in 2022) and two-time all-conference forward Spencer Jones (2022, 2023), as well as three consecutive Pac-12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year (a first in conference history for either men’s or women’s basketball) and a pair of 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans (Brandon Angel and Michael Jones).
A native of Buffalo, New York, Berkun graduated from Canisius College in December 2016 and was immediately hired by Stanford. Berkun earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Canisius, where he was a member of the Dean’s List each semester and graduated magna cum laude. Berkun was also a standout member of the Canisius golf team during his time on the Buffalo campus. A two-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic selection as a member of the Golden Griffins, Berkun also served a leadership role on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). During his time at Canisius, Berkun worked in the athletic department, assisting with the internal production of live broadcasts of several events, while also serving as one of the department’s liaisons for external television productions.
Berkun earned his master's degree in Sport Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2021.
Berkun has two years of experience in coaching, serving as an assistant coach for the varsity boys’ basketball team at Williamsville South High School during the 2014-15 season, and as an assistant coach for the varsity boys’ basketball team at Williamsville North High School for the 2013-14 campaign. Berkun captained the Williamsville North High School boys’ basketball team during a standout scholastic career. His brother, Michael, was named head men’s basketball coach at SUNY Buffalo State University in May 2024 after previously serving six seasons in that same role (as well as director of athletics since 2019) at SUNY Maritime College.
