Coach Barko enters his 29th season with the Falcons in 2025-26. A native of Dearborn, Mich., Barko is a 1970 graduate of Xavier University. He holds a master's degree from Loyola University and a postgraduate fellowship in community mental health.
With close to 40 years of active track & field coaching, Coach Barko brings a passion for student-athlete mentorship to his work with the Falcons' competitors. He works intentionally to teach each athlete to be a true student of their event and to develop a Christian perspective of sports and life.
Throughout his coaching career, Coach Barko has been instrumental in starting numerous running and track and field groups across the country. In 1990, he was the founding coach of the Randolph Roadrunner Club in San Antonio, Texas. The club has produced over 3,500 athletes, multiple age group champions, Texas state champions, NCAA All-Americans, and even two Olympians. The club’s founding mission, set in place under Coach Barko’s leadership, continues strongly to this day through its promotion of athletic engagement and development amongst young adults and minorities. Coach Barko also was the founding coach at Denbigh Baptist Christian School in Newport News, Virginia, and Bracken Christian School in Bulverde, Texas.
A former Texas AAU Vice President, he twice received national awards for coaching excellence and service.
During his time at Messiah, Coach Barko's dominant focus has been on sprints and hurdles. Along the way, he has coached dozens of Middle Atlantic Conference champions as well as three of Messiah University's track and field NCAA National Champions: Chris Boyles '02, Amy Reed '08, and Kristen Bates '11.
In addition to his coaching career, Coach Barko served for 30 years in the U.S. Army, ascending to the rank of Colonel and specializing in behavioral sciences and medical research. Since his retirement, he has spent 15 years doing global health missions to a variety of countries, including Ukraine, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, and Russia.
Coach Barko, who coached all three of his children in club and high school track, resides in nearby Carlisle, Pa., with wife Laura of 50 years. The two have been intentional in prioritizing the spiritual development of athletes by hosting the track and field and cross country seniors each week in their home for dinner, Bible study, mentoring, and life transition discussions. Coach Barko’s legacy and impact on Messiah athletics and track and field is hard to overstate, and it continues to grow with each passing year.
