June 2, 2006

Fairfax, Va.--George Mason men's basketball Coach Jim Larranaga has added Joe Barrer to his staff as director of basketball operations. This past season, he was a graduate assistant on the bench for Coach L as the Patriots enjoyed their best season in school history.

Mason made their first-ever trip to the NCAA Final Four, and the first by any Colonial Athletic Association school. Mason set a school record with 27 wins, tied a CAA record with 15 CAA regular-season wins, and finished the season ranked eighth in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.

"Joe has done a terrific job over the last two seasons," said Larranaga. It's great to reward him with a fulltime position on our bench. We've always felt that hark work and dedication will help you be successful and he has proven that he is willing to make the sacrifices to advance his career."

Barrer completed his Master's of Science degree in Mason's exercise fitness and health promotion program. He earned a Bachelor of Science in 2003 in physical education from St. Ambrose University, where he played basketball and was a member of three conference championship and two national tournament teams at the NAIA school. An NAIA academic All-American as a junior and a senior, Barrer was the head freshmen basketball and assistant freshmen baseball coach at Davenport Assumption H.S. during 2003-04.

A 1999 graduate of Davenport Assumption and a native of Davenport, Iowa, Barrer was a member of his high school's Class 3A state championship basketball team his senior year. He is the son of Roberta and Mike Barrer, and has one sister, Jennifer.