Hobart and William Smith Colleges Athletics

Michael J. Hanna '68 was a second-team All-American attackman for the lacrosse team in 1968, finishing second on the team in scoring with 35 goals and 35 assists. As a quarterback in football, Hanna broke all of Hobart's season and career passing records during the 1966 and 1967 seasons. He co-captained both the football and lacrosse teams his senior year. During his senior year he was awarded the Francis L. "Babe" Kraus Award as "Hobart's Athlete of the Year" and was also presented with the Judge Kane Award as MVP in lacrosse. Hanna has been involved in college athletics since his discharge from the U.S. Army in 1971. He was an Army paratrooper and an officer in military intelligence. His military service included a one year tour as a military intelligence adviser in South Vietnam. He was the head lacrosse coach at Princeton University for five years between 1977 and 1981. Hanna returned to his alma mater to become Hobart's athletics director in 1981. Under his guidance the College has captured 11 national championships, recruited some of the finest coaches in the nation, who have produced over 100 All-Americans, and moved the College's famed lacrosse program to the head of the class, from Division III to Division I. He was also instrumental in the building of the $6.1 million state-of-the-art Robert A. Bristol Fieldhouse, which opened in 1989.