Hall of Fame
John Russell, Malone's current Associate Athletic Director and Compliance Officer, is in his 27th year at the University and becomes the second inductee elected under the "administrator or support personnel" provision (longtime Sports Information Director Mark Bankert was the first in 2008).
Russell, a 1963 graduate of New Philadelphia High School, competed for the Pioneer baseball team during the 1964 and 1965 seasons. Following five years of service in the United States Army, Russell returned to Malone as a student and then graduated in 1973 with a degree in Physical Education.
Russell would spend the next 18 years at Massillon Christian School where he served as a teacher, coach, athletic director and principal. He began working at his alma mater in 1991 as an admissions counselor and then was named Malone's Director of Admissions in 1997. Russell transitioned to his current position in the Athletic Department in 2009 and played a key role in the Pioneers' move to NCAA Division II membership.
Russell was an assistant on head coach Bob Starcher's baseball staff from 1989-1994 and then served as the Pioneers' interim head baseball coach during the 1996 season.
As Malone's Athletic Compliance Officer, Russell oversees all aspects of student-athlete recruiting by the University, ensuring all rules and regulations set forth by the institution, conference, and NCAA are followed.Â
John and his wife, Carol (also a former Malone student), reside in Jackson Township and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in December of 2016. The couple has two adult children, Carrie (May) and Johnny, and five grandchildren. Both Russell children, and their daughter-in-law (Darci), are Malone alums.
