Hartnett, 27, has been the assistant coach for the men’s lacrosse team at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y., since he graduated from the College of Wooster in 2003. Otterbein is expected to begin varsity competition in spring of 2010.

“Colin is a young and enthusiastic coach from a good NCAA Division III school out East. He has several ties within the Central Ohio area and we are excited to get the program started,” said Athletic Director Dick Reynolds.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity that Dick Reynolds and everyone at Otterbein College has given me,” said Hartnett, a native of Canandaigua, N.Y. “I think that the College is committed to building a successful lacrosse program that will be consistent with the high level of athletics at the school.”

In his five years at St. John Fisher, Hartnett helped build a team from the ground up and take it to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) playoffs three years in a row and to a school best 11-3 record in 2008.

He served as the offensive coordinator in 2004 and 2005 at St. John Fisher, and as the defensive coordinator since 2006. While offensive coordinator, the team finished the 2005 season averaging 10.8 goals a game, an increase over the 8.3 average in 2004. As defensive coordinator, the defensive unit improved to 28th of 130 teams in the country, allowing just 7.3 goals an outing in 2008, a sharp drop from the 13.4 average in 2004.

Hartnett received his Bachelor of Arts in History from Wooster in 2003. He earned four varsity letters in lacrosse, finishing his career as the school’s fourth all-time leading scorer. As a freshman, Hartnett scored 52 points and was runner-up for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Newcomer of the Year award. He was a two-time member of the All-NCAC team and served as team captain his junior season.

Otterbein to Offer Men's Lacrosse
Written May 19, 2008 by Ed Syguda

WESTERVILLE, OHIO—Otterbein will begin a men’s varsity lacrosse program, becoming the only member of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) to field a varsity lacrosse team.

“We're excited about starting men's lacrosse,” said Otterbein athletic director Dick Reynolds. “There is a lot of lacrosse activity in the central Ohio area—people starting the sport and enjoying the sport. A number of students have wanted to play lacrosse at Otterbein and we like to keep up with the requests of our students. It's a very popular sport right now.”

Otterbein is expected to hire a coach this summer and then begin varsity competition in the 2009-10 academic year. College lacrosse is a spring sport.

“After we hire a coach this summer,” Reynolds said, “we’ll use this next year to build the program and recruit, and then compete in the following year.”

If all goes well with the men’s program, women’s lacrosse should follow.

“Our intent is to get the men's program off the ground,” Reynolds said. “After we get that started, we will be looking to start women's lacrosse the following year.”