Mark Richard
Director of Athletics
Gannon University President Antoine M. Garibaldi, Ph.D., has named Mark Richard as Director of Athletics. The Meadville, Pa., native and former Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) student-athlete will be introduced during a press conference in Gannon’s Old Main Boardroom Thursday, May 7 at 3:30 p.m. and is expected to begin his duties June 8.
Richard comes to Gannon after spending the last 10 years at NCAA Division I Auburn University of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), including the last four years as the Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Team Support. He was an integral part of the leadership and strategic planning group.
“Gannon is very excited to welcome Mark Richard as Gannon’s Director of Athletics,” said Garibaldi. “With his two decades of experience at five Division I universities, his four years as a student-athlete in two sports at a PSAC member university and his appreciation of Gannon’s Mission, Mark has the ideal qualities to raise Gannon’s record of academic and athletic success even higher in all of its 18 NCAA Division II sports.”
Richard brings over 20 years of collegiate sports administration experience to Gannon. He started his Auburn tenure as the Associate Director of Athletics in 1999 and served in that capacity until 2004, when he was promoted to Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Team Support. His experience and duties at Auburn included compliance, budgets, scheduling, strategic planning, direct supervision of selected sports, and drug-testing policies for an institution with approximately 500 student-athletes.
“I am extremely excited to become the next Director of Athletics at Gannon University,” noted Richard. “I look forward to working under President Garibaldi’s leadership as we move the athletics department forward. Being from western Pennsylvania, I fully understand Gannon’s tradition and impact on the Erie community.
“I am also excited about returning to the PSAC and helping our coaches and student-athletes compete for PSAC championships. Gannon is a unique institution with great student-athletes and I hope to facilitate their excellence in the classroom and in the field of competition.”
Richard has administration experience at five NCAA Division I institutions. Prior to his time at Auburn, Richard served as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance at Vanderbilt University (1997-99) and the Director of NCAA Compliance and Student Services at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1995-97), where he implemented a continuing NCAA Compliance Education Program and the CHAMPS program. He began his stay at UNLV as the Coordinator of Game Operations (1993-95), where he also served as the Director of Bowl Game Operations for the Las Vegas Bowl.
The 48-year-old began his administrative career as an Operations/Facilities Advisor at the University of Florida (1988-90), before moving to North Carolina State University to become the Director of Student-Athlete Services (1990-93).
Richard graduated from PSAC member Clarion University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He was a two-sport athlete at Clarion, lettering four times in football (1979-82) and playing one season (1980) for the baseball team. Richard earned his Master’s of Exercise and Sport Sciences with a sports management emphasis from the University of Florida in 1989. He and his wife, Tracy (Elliott), have three daughters, Mackenzie Margaret (8), Hope Elliott (21 months) and Nicole Rene (21 months).
Don Sherman
Associate Director of Athletics
Sherman was hired as Gannon’s first full-time Associate Director of Athletics in 2004, serving under former Directors of Athletics Bill Elias and Gilbert “Griz” Zimmerman. He helped move Gannon from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) within the last year. The 2008-09 academic year is the school’s first as a member of the PSAC.
The Erie, Pa., native continues to serve as the women’s and men’s water polo coach. In addition to raising the water polo programs to the varsity level in 2001, he previously served as the head swimming coach for eight seasons.
Sherman has served as the Gannon’s head women’s water polo coach for eight seasons and the men’s head coach for six seasons. He coached the women’s team for five seasons on the varsity level and the men’s squad for four seasons until stepping down after the 2004-05 campaigns to concentrate on his Associate Director of Athletics position. Sherman returned to the deck in 2007-08 after a brief one-year hiatus while continuing to serve as the Associate A.D. in addition to his coaching duties.
Sherman has been named Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Western Division Women’s Water Polo Coach of the Year twice, in 2002 and 2007. The women’s program has never recorded a losing record during its eight-year history. The Lady Knights qualified for back-to-back Eastern Championships in 2003 and 2004, being the only non-Division I school at both events. The Eastern Championships are the equivalent to the NCAA Regionals in other sports.
The men’s water polo program has also flourished under Sherman, recording a 77-62 record in six seasons. Sherman is at his best during local rivalries. His water polo teams are 27-10 all-time against Mercyhurst (Men 13-5/Women 14-5) and 31-0 all-time against Penn State Behrend (Men 18-0/Women 13-0).
Sherman began his career at Gannon as an assistant swimming and diving coach under former Gannon head coach Rick Goerlitz. He was appointed head women’s and men’s swimming coach in the summer of 1997. The men’s program had four consecutive winning seasons while the women’s program produced winning records in four of Sherman’s last five campaigns. Both squads went 10-1 during Sherman’s last season in 2004-05.
A longtime member of the Gannon athletic department, Sherman has 29 years of involvement with aquatics and pool management as a coach, instructor, swimmer, and lifeguard. He served as the Financial Director for the Downtown Erie YMCA prior to coming to Gannon.
Sherman graduated from Slippery Rock University with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and Sports Management. He was a member of the Rocket water polo team that finished eighth at the NCAA National Championships in 1984. He later served as an assistant student coach for the Slippery Rock men’s swimming team, and also has experience as the Cathedral Prep assistant swimming and water polo coach.
Kathy MacMurdy
Business Manager/Senior Women's Administrator
Kathy MacMurdy became the athletic department’s business manager and senior women’s administrator in April of 2000. She previously worked in Gannon’s Finance and Administration Office and has worked at Gannon a total of 26 years.
Dee Smith
Administrative Assistant to the Director of Athletics
Dee Smith originally worked for the Gannon University Library from 1969-1973 and from 1985-1989. In 1989, she became the secretary to the then newly resurrected football program. Smith spent 18 years in football before becoming the Administrative Assistant for the Department of Athletics in 2007. Dee is also the advisor for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).