IUP Athletic Hall of Fame
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Mario Hardison utilized his speed to excel on the football field and on the track during his time at IUP.
Hardison debuted as a wide receiver in 1993, when coach Frank Cignetti took his team to the national championship game. IUP finished 13-1 that year to set a school record for victories, three of them coming in the NCAA Division II playoffs. North Alabama, playing on its home field, handed the Indians, as they were then known, a last-second 41-34 defeat to deny IUP a national title.
The Indians won 39 games in Hardison’s four seasons, won or shared three PSAC West crowns and were twice awarded the Lambert Cup as the premier Division II team in the East. He earned PSAC West first-team honors as a senior, moving up from the second team the year before. Hardison was named team MVP in 1996, when he led IUP with 43 receptions for 928 yards (a sparkling 21.6 average per catch) and 11 touchdowns.
Hardison ranks 12th in IUP history in career receptions with 118, 10th in receiving yards (2,093) and fifth in receiving touchdowns (23). The highlight of his senior season came in a wild 62-55 win over Shippensburg when he caught six passes for 192 yards and three TDs.
On the track under coach Ed Fry, Hardison won PSAC titles in the 100 in 1995 and the 4x100 relay with Al Taylor, John Stuart and Taun Henderson in 1995 and with Taylor, Stuart and Brian Spickler in 1996. He set school records in the 100 (10.5), 4x400 relay (41.6) and the rarely run 4x200 relay (1:28.3), which still stands. Hardison participated in the Penn Relays in 1994, 1995 and 1996 and ran the 100 at the 1996 NCAA Division II meet in Riverside, Calif.
A 1997 IUP grad with a degree in marketing, Hardison is a self-employed entrepreneur in Harrisburg, where he lives with his wife, Trina, a 1997 IUP grad. They have two sons, Quincy, 23, and Omari, 17.
Personal Reflection:
I would like to thank God—without God none of this is possible.
It is truly an honor and I’m humbled to be inducted into the IUP Athletics Hall of Fame. I would like to thank my mom for all her support and for being the first to believe in me. I’d like to thank my brothers as well as all my cousins who served as my first teammates. I’d like to thank my father, my uncles, as well as my grandfather for instilling toughness and grit in an undersized kid.
Growing up as a kid in Johnstown, playing football on Sherman Street, I dreamt of playing college football one day. With hard work and support from my family, coaches and teammates, my dreams came true. I would like to thank my high school coaches, Jerry Davitch and Tom Fleming, along with all my teammates. I would like to thank my Hall of Fame college football coach, Frank Cignetti, along with all my teammates. I would like to thank my track coaches, Ed Fry and Robert “Doc” Raemore, two of the best to ever coach at IUP. I would like to thank my three track and field teammates for helping set a record in the 800-meter relay in 1994 that still stands today: John Stuart, Nicholas Thiele and Taun Henderson.
I’d like to say thank you to the IUP Athletics Hall of Fame committee as well as all the past and current inductees. I’m happy to share this day with my wife, Trina, whom I met while attending IUP, along with my two sons, Quincy and Omari.
Just a kid from Kernville.
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