WILMINGTON – Mike Hart, Salesianum School’s longtime athletic director and the dean of Delaware ADs, will retire at the end of the school year, the school announced May 6. Hart has been in the position for 43 years.
Scott Mosier, currently the director of athletic affairs and head soccer coach, has been named Hart’s successor. Hart will continue as athletic director emeritus and will serve the school’s athletic programs and initiatives in a part-time role. That will include the construction and management of Abessinio Stadium, which will be built on the current site of Baynard Stadium.
“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,” Hart said.
Hart, a 1970 graduate of Salesianum, assumed his role in 1976, and he has been the athletic director for most of the school’s 163 state championships. He has been named the state athletic director of the year three times, and he has served five terms as president of the Delaware Association of Athletic Directors. In 2012, he received the National Interscholastic Athletic Administration’s Distinguished Service Award, and in 1996, the National Federation of High Schools’ Citation Award.
Salesianum has introduced a number of sports during his tenure, including lacrosse (1988), volleyball (2001), hockey (2001) and rugby (2009). Nearly two-thirds of the students participate in varsity and intramural athletics. The school opened the Anthony N. Fusco Athletic Center in 2012, which created 25,000 square feet of space for training, exercise and team gatherings.
“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,” said Hart, who is also the chairman of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association baseball state tournament committee.
Brendan Kennealey, Salesianum’s president, called Hart an institution at Salesianum.
“After four decades, you can’t help but leave an indelible mark,” he said. “Athletes and coaches alike would all agree that Mike has certainly left his. We’re so grateful for not only his service, but for his loyalty and commitment to our students.
“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.”
