Brad Hackett was hired as Muhlenbergs first full-time head coach of
track and field since 1990 in September 1999. In his first eight seasons
as head coach, the Mules have virtually rewritten the record book,
combining to set nearly 80 school records.
In 2005, Hackett was named Mideast Region coach of the year after leading
the Muhlenberg womens team to the Centennial Conference
outdoor championship the first in program history.
During Hacketts tenure, the Mules also have recorded nine
second-place finishes at the CC Championships (three for the men indoors,
two for the women indoors, two each for the women and men outdoors) and
qualified their first athletes for the NCAA Championships.
In 2003, the
Mule men crowned their first All-Americans (one individual and one
relay team indoors and one individual outdoors) and finished 10th at the
NCAA Indoor Championships. The women had their first All-American in 2006.
Hackett, a 1983 graduate of Colgate University, has coached at the
collegiate level for more than 20 years, including one academic year
(1994-95) during which he was acting head coach of cross country and track
at Syracuse University. He was at Syracuse from 1988 to 1997 following a
three years as an assistant at
Bucknell and two at Colgate.
From November 1998 to June 2005, Hackett served as chair of the
Mens
Development Committee for USA Track and Field, the sports governing
body in this country. He was responsible for all aspects of mens
development in all events, including talent identification and athlete
tracking at the junior elite, emerging elite and elite levels.
Hackett, who also is Muhlenbergs director of intramurals and
recreation, was appointed head manager of the United States mens team
for the 2007 Junior Pan Am Games in Brazil. He served as head manager
of
the United States team for the 2002
International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) World Cup, held
in Madrid, Spain, and was assistant manager for the 2001 Outdoor World
Championships in Edmonton.
Hackett was the mens national triple jump chair for USA Track and
Field from 1993 to 1998 and served as national spokesperson for the event.
He also did marketing, promotion and sales for M-F Athletic Company, a
producer of track and field equipment that recently was named official
supplier by
Athletics Canada, the sports governing body north of the border.