Head Strength & Conditioning Coach, Mercer University
Coach Barr is entering his 5th year as the Director of Strength & Conditioning at Mercer University. Barr arrived in the summer of 2021 and oversees a staff of 8 Strength Coaches that work with 17 sports.
Barr’s primary sport responsibilities are with Mercer Football. In his time at Mercer, Barr has helped guide the Bears Football program to their most-successful seasons over a 4-year span. During that time, Mercer has had multiple FCS top 25 appearances finishing 24th in 2022, 17th in 2023, and 7th at the end of the 2024 season. During the 2024 Season the Bears outscored their opponents in the 2nd half 210-97 and shut out 8 of those teams in the 4th quarter, which Barr says is a testament to the team’s grit and commitment to finish! Mercer competed in their First Playoff Appearance in school history in 2023 and has since seen Back-to-Back Playoff Appearances. The Bears claimed their 1st Southern Conference Title in program history in 2024 as well finishing the season 11-3 which is another program record.
Prior to arriving at Mercer, Barr worked as the Director of Strength & Conditioning at Western Carolina University again overseeing the department working with 17 sports and primarily working with football. While at WCU, Barr helped transform a football program that saw 9 total wins over a 5-year span (2008-2012), into a program that finished in the top 3 in the conference in back-to-back seasons in 2014-2015.
Over Barr’s coaching tenure he has mentored 88 All Conference Selections (1st/2nd Team), 2 Conference Players of the Year, 1 Buck Buchanan Finalist (2024), 19 All-Americans (1st/2nd Team), 1 NFL Draft Pick, 5 Players Making NFL Rosters, 2 Super Bowl Appearances, and 1 Super Bowl Champion.
Prior to his time with the Catamounts, Barr was called to help start up the Reinhardt University Football Program as the team’s first Strength & Conditioning Coach as players arrived on campus in the fall of 2012. Barr also oversaw the training of the department’s other 16 sports.
Before taking the reins of the department at Reinhardt, Barr worked at Performance QSA in Greenville, S.C., as the director of athletic performance. He also has collegiate experience as an intern at the University of Tennessee and Furman University, along with a stop at Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tennessee as the team’s Defensive Line Coach. Throughout all his stops Barr has accumulated over 17 years of experience in the field working with athletes in the private sector and collegiate setting.
Barr is certified through the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and is Strength & Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) through the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coach’s Association (CSCCa).
Originally from Madisonville, Tenn., Barr graduated with a degree in Exercise Science from the University of Tennessee, spending two years as a walk-on with the Volunteers' football program under head coach Phillip Fulmer.
Barr and his wife Rebecca have a son, James, and two daughters, Layla and Ava. “I am super thankful for the unwavering amount of support and sacrifice my family and especially my wife has made to allow me to pour into the lives of all the athletes and staff we have been able to serve. Every athlete and every coach on my staff are where they are now, in part. because of that sacrifice and support you guys have made.” — Barr
Barr also would like to thank his mentors who have never hesitated to pick up the phone and talk shop over the years; John Sisk, David Abernethy, Joey Batson, Ron McKeefery, Mike Gentry, Scott Sinclair and all the other coaches that have continually opened their doors for visits and chalk talk over the years. He would also like to thank Football Coaches; Danny Cronic, Mark Speir, Drew Cronic and Mike Jacobs for giving him the opportunity to be the Strength & Conditioning Coordinator for their Football Programs. Last, but certainly not least he would like to thank all the coaches who have assisted on his staff as interns, graduate and full-time assistants. “I would not be where I am today without their hard work and dedication to the athletes we have served.”
