Long-time Athletic Director, Michael D. Hart '70, to Retire - The longest serving Athletic Director in state history will transition to a new role as Athletic Director Emeritus.

Salesianum School announced today that Michael D. Hart ’70 will retire from his current role as Athletic Director in June 2019. After a 43-year career in the role, Mr. Hart will become Athletic Director Emeritus and continue to serve the school’s athletic programs and initiatives in a part-time role, including the new Abessinio Stadium construction and management. Scott Mosier, who currently serves as Salesianum’s head soccer coach and as an athletic administrator, has been named the new Athletic Director with responsibilities for Salesianum’s interscholastic athletic programs, intramurals, and physical wellness programs.

During his tenure, Mr. Hart presided over virtually every one of Salesianum’s record 163 state championships. Since assuming the role in 1976, Salesianum’s varsity programs have compiled an impressive 5,076 wins to just 1,852 losses and 133 ties. A three time state athletic director of the year, Mr. Hart served five terms as the president of the Delaware Association of Athletic Directors. In 2012, he was awarded the National Interscholastic Athletic Administration’s Distinguished Service Award and in 1996, the National Federation of High Schools’ Citation Award.

Beyond the success of the teams and the development of players under Hart, Salesianum athletics grew to include sports such as Lacrosse (1988), Volleyball (2001), Hockey (2001), and Rugby (2009), and saw participation in athletics and intramural sports balloon to nearly two thirds of enrolled students. As wins and hardware piled up, the program was further strengthened in 2012 with the opening of the Anthony N. Fusco Athletic Center, a state-of-the-art renovation and construction project that created a total of 25,000 square feet for training, exercise and team space. Presently, he is involved with the planning of the new Abessinio Stadium.

Brendan Kennealey ‘94, the President of Salesianum, summed up Mr. Hart’s tenure like this: “Institutions like Salesianum, which have been around for more than a century, have a way of producing institutions of their own, like Mike Hart. After four decades, you can’t help but leave an indelible mark; athletes and coaches alike would all agree that Mike has certainly left his. We’re so grateful not only for his service, but for his loyalty and commitment to our students. From freshman baseball to varsity basketball and every sport in-between, Mike worked tirelessly to be present at every event and always represented the interests of our athletes. We’re so glad that, like his father, ‘Big Daddy’ Hart, Mike will remain a fixture of Salesianum, even in retirement, allowing him to continue to serve the institution he loves.”

Mr. Hart remarked, “This has always been a passion, not a job. I loved every minute of my time here. There’s not much more to say than that. This is a special place and I’m just happy that I could, to the best of my ability, make it a better place. That’s all I ever wanted and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”