Mike Hart Excited to be Home Coaching at Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – One of Central New York's prodigal sons has returned.

Syracuse native Mike Hart was named the Orange's running backs coach by first-year head coach Dino Babers on Jan. 13. The opportunity meant a trip back home after more than a decade spent in the Midwest as both a coach and player.

"It was really one of those calls that I was hoping for, that I was praying for," Hart said. "It was the one place that I wanted to come back to.

"Getting back here and seeing all the facilities, all the upgrades, and all the things that they've done here, it's exciting to be back."

Hart first burst on the national scene as a running back at Onondaga Central High School. A 2004 OCHS graduate, he thrilled Central New York football fans with his combination of vision, speed and power. Hart rushed for more than 11,000 career yards and set the national high school record for the most rushing touchdowns (204). The Tigers were 46-1 with Hart in the backfield and captured three state championships.

As impressive as those numbers are, nothing defined Hart's high school legacy more than one play in the 2002 Class C state semifinals at the Carrier Dome against LeRoy Oatkan. It's a play now known simply as "The Run."

Onondaga trailed 10-7 with less than four minutes left when Hart took a handoff running left. He was hemmed in along the sideline, but cut back all the way across the field for a 64-yard touchdown. In the process, Hart broke six tackles and eluded just about every player on the LeRoy Oatkan defense.

People still ask Hart about "The Run" nearly 15 years later, including at a recent coaching clinic where a former LeRoy Oatkan player was in attendance.

"It's one of those things you don't forget about," Hart said. "It was probably the biggest game of my high school career. They were by far the best team I ever played against in high school. "I don't know how it happened. Instinct just took over."

Those instincts served Hart well at the University of Michigan. A four-year starter from 2004-07, he rewrote the Wolverines rushing record book, finishing as the program's career leader in carries (1,015) and rushing yardage (5,040).

Hart was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 2008, but injuries derailed his professional career so he began coaching in 2011 as a quality control assistant at Eastern Michigan. Hart was named EMU's running backs coach the next year and mentored 1,000-yard rusher Bronson Hill.

Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck took notice of Hart's coaching talents and brought him to Kalamazoo in 2014 to coach the Broncos running backs. The move paid immediate dividends. Hart helped guide the careers of two Mid-American Conference (MAC) Rookies of the Year, and Western Michigan made consecutive bowl games for the first time ever with Hart on the staff, including defeating Middle Tennessee in the 2015 Bahamas Bowl for the program's first bowl victory.

Having faced Western Michigan multiple times while the head coach at Bowling Green, Babers had an opportunity to see Hart's work first-hand. So when Babers accepted the head job at Syracuse, bringing Hart into the Orange fold was a no-brainer.

"He's a tremendous asset to our staff," Babers said. "I'm especially happy for Mike to have the chance to come back home and reconnect with the Syracuse community."

Now back on his old stomping grounds, Hart's focus is on returning Syracuse football to national prominence and learning as much as he can from Babers and other offensive coaches about running their up-tempo spread.

"There's only a couple coaches in the country that know this system," Hart said. "It's a special system. I'm just happy and lucky enough to be a part of it."

Hart will make his Orange coaching debut when Syracuse takes the field for its 2016 opener on Friday, Sept. 2 against Colgate.

Season tickets for Syracuse football are on sale now online, by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B). Tickets start at $99 ($16.50 per game) with lower-level seats in the end zones available for as little as $125.

Single-game tickets for all home games except Florida State go on sale June 21. Tickets to watch the Orange and Seminoles are tentatively scheduled to go on sale July 26. Tickets start at $20 for non-conference games, $25 for the Louisville and NC State games, and $30 for the Virginia Tech and Florida State contests.

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Mike Hart Excited to be Home Coaching at Syracuse

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