June 22, 2007

Erie, Pa. - The longest-serving Director of Athletics in the history of Mercyhurst College will be leaving the position later this year. Pete Russo announced today that, after 18 years at the helm, he will retire effective August 31.

"I turned 70 a few months ago and that's when I realized this would be a good time to leave, before the start of another school year," said Russo. "It's been a great 18 years at a great institution. I only hope I've made it a better place athletically and I hope the department has provided a great experience for the many excellent student-athletes I've had the pleasure of serving."

Mercyhurst President, Dr. Thomas Gamble, is sad to see Russo leave: "Pete and Mercyhurst athletics have become synonymous over the years. He's done a wonderful job in strengthening the department and his last season may have been his finest. We are grateful for his 18 years of service and we wish him all the best in his retirement."

Russo is exiting the college after a remarkable 2006-07 season, one which resonated with the following numbers:

2 - The number of varsity teams ranked #1 during the year. Women's ice hockey was ranked #1 for eleven successive weeks while men's lacrosse achieved the distinction for five straight weeks in the spring.

3 - Athletes drafted into the professional ranks. Men's lacrosse player Joe Thon was drafted by the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse while baseball players David Lough and Brian Espersen were drafted by Kansas City and Houston respectively.

3.08 - Cumulative GPA of all student-athletes in 2006-07.

4 - Conference championships in 2006-07: women's hockey, men's lacrosse, men's soccer, and women's soccer.

5 - NCAA Playoff teams: women's hockey, men's lacrosse, men's soccer, women's soccer, and men's tennis.

18 - All-Americans

51 - Conference player of the Week Awards

55 - All-Conference Student Athletes.

124 - All-Academic Student Athletes.

309 - Student-athletes with a 3.0 GPA or better

Mercyhurst hosted Erie's first-ever Division I playoff game earlier this year when the women's hockey team battled Minnesota-Duluth March 9 before a packed house at the Ice Center. In 2004, the athletic department was rewarded with its first NCAA Championship courtesy of the women's rowing team.

Beginning in 1989, Russo initiated an aggressive expansion and modernization of the department's staff, programs and facilities. The expansion of the Mercyhurst Athletic Center, remodeling of the Recreation Center, construction of the Mercyhurst Ice Center, the addition of the on-campus baseball/soccer complex, and the construction of Tullio Field that returned football to the college, are just a few of the improvements made during Russo's tenure.

Russo's agenda also included moving the sports programs from independent status to conference membership. Fourteen varsity sports compete in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). Football moved to Division II scholarship in the fall of 1998 and became a part of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). Hockey joined the Division I Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's (MAAC) Hockey League in 1999 before shifting gears to the 10-team Atlantic Hockey Association in 2003. Men's volleyball competes in the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) while men's lacrosse participates in the East Coast Conference. Mercyhurst revived field hockey and began both men's and women's lacrosse in 1997. The college initiated women's varsity golf and women's varsity ice hockey in the fall of 1999 and increased the number of varsity sports to 25 in 2001-02 with the addition of men's and women's water polo and wrestling.

Russo was also instrumental in establishing the first athletic programs at Mercyhurst-North East.

During his 18 years at the Hurst, Russo held several committee positions with the Tri-State Athletic Association, Eastern College Athletic Conference, National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He served as president of the GLIAC for the 1998-99 academic year and was at one time chairman of the GLIAC Championship Committee.

In September of 2000, Russo was appointed to a four-year term on the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Committee. Russo also served as chairman of the Great Lakes basketball region and ultimately played a major role in the rating and selection of teams that participated in the NCAA Division II Regional Basketball Tournament as well as the final Elite Eight National Tournament.

Craig Barnett, currently the Associate Director of Athletics, will become the Acting Director of Athletics.