August 2, 2007
Barnett Takes AD Spot at Mercyhurst
CHN Staff Report
ERIE, Pa. — Craig Barnett, a former Division I head coach at Findlay before the program disbanded, has been named the new athletic director at Mercyhurst. He replaces Pete Russo. The move is effective Aug. 31.
"We are very pleased that Craig has agreed to lead the athletic department at Mercyhurst," Dr. Thomas Gamble, Mercyhurst President, said. "He brings a love of the institution and a genuine commitment to the overall welfare of student-athletes. We expect great things with Craig at the helm."
Barnett spent two years at Mercyhurst from 1991-93 and returned as the school's associate director of athletics on December 5, 2006. He then became the acting director of athletics when Russo announced his retirement.
After spending two years at Mercyhurst, he moved on to Kent State, where he assisted the men's hockey team and received his master's degree in sports administration. He then took over the hockey program at Findlay in 1995, moving the program from club status to NCAA Division III and eventually to NCAA Division I during his eight years at the helm.
Barnett then went into athletic administration and moved to a preparatory school, Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Ill., in 2002. From there, he became director of athletics and men's hockey coach at Becker College, an NCAA Division III school in Worcester, Mass.
Barnett had a standout playing career at D-III Plattsburgh State (N.Y.), completed in 1989. He then played two years of hockey in the New York Rangers organization before his first job at Mercyhurst.
