Lindenhurst grad Schnatz running smooth ship at Merchant Marine Academy
Kris Schnatz, USMMA Director of Physical Education and Athletics, poses for a portrait in front of the Kings Pointer training vessel as it returns to dock and the World War II Memorial on campus on Wednesday. Credit: James Escher
One in a series of Sports Jobs stories that explore jobs Long Islanders have in the world of sports..
Kris Schnatz was playing guard for Lindenhurst High and drawing interest from SUNY Maritime’s basketball program. A career was going to be launched from the Bronx shoreline.
“My coach, John Albano, took me on a visit,” Schnatz said. “I had a good visit. It really just opened my eyes to the opportunity in the maritime industry. Just a great college experience and degree, which kind of set me forward.”
That degree was in marine transportation. Schnatz served on tugboats and as a marine analyst for the National Imaging & Mapping Agency. Then he became the captain of a riverboat based out of Michigan City, Indiana, from 2000 to 2011 — the Blue Chip Casino on Lake Michigan.
“You run all the deckhands, the crew, the daily operations of a vessel, just like you would any other vessel,” Schnatz said. “It just happens to be a casino boat . . . You’re working 12-hour shifts, two weeks on, two weeks off, six months out of the year.”
But he ultimately put his chips in another maritime direction, tying it to college sports.
This 49-year-old Lindenhurst native and former Bulldogs player from the Class of 1994 has been the Director of Physical Education & Athletics at U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point since August 2019. He lives on campus and treasures being the captain of the athletic department.
Kris Schnatz, United States Merchant Marine Academy Director of Physical Education and Athletics, poses for a portrait in front of Kings Pointer training vessel, docked on campus, on Wednesday. Credit: James Escher
“It’s a privilege to be here,” Schnatz said.
There are just four other jobs like Schnatz's in the country.
“It’s, for me, a full-circle moment,” said Schnatz, whose dad, Kenneth, worked 32 years at Lindenhurst, teaching math and coaching basketball and volleyball. . “I spent about 12 years in the maritime industry and in college athletics at the same time.
“And to kind of circle back and have this opportunity here at one of the five [United States] service academies, to me it’s all about service and competition and [developing] leadership through competition. This is the exact type of institution I’ve dreamed about working at.”
Schnatz used his time off from Blue Chip to get his master’s in sports administration from Valparaiso in 2005, and to coach men’s basketball, first as an assistant, then as head coach at Purdue North Central (an NAIA school) over nine years until 2012.
He became AD at NAIA Indiana University Northwest and eventually coached men’s basketball, then became SUNY Maritime’s AD in 2016 before arriving at USMMA where he oversees 19 D-III varsity teams and three competitive club teams.
The father of three college-age daughters — he met his wife, Kristen, when they were working on the casino boat — Schnatz believes his workplace is about “opportunity and options.”
“You’re training for the merchant marines, which is the maritime industry,” he said. “That’s working on tankers and container ships . . . things like that. But [it’s] also having the opportunity to serve in either the Navy reserve or any of the active branches.
“ . . . My daughter is going to be in the Navy. The other daughter is going to be in the Coast Guard. Here, you can choose at the end of your four years to serve in any of our branches, including Space Force and NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration].”
SETTING A STANDARD
Jim Tobin graduated from USMMA in 1977. The 69-year-old Amityville resident has been president and CEO of its alumni association and foundation for 17 years. He said Schnatz “has elevated our program and done a fantastic job.”
“I can tell you working with him is just a pleasure because we can talk honestly,” Tobin said. “He’s not allowed as a government employee — he can’t ask me for money directly or to say, 'Could you raise money for this or that?' He’s just allowed to let me know his needs, and then it’s up to me to go out and get it.
“ . . . And then as a human being, he’s just the kind of guy that when you first meet him, you like him just as a person.”
Kris Schnatz, USMMA Director of Physical Education and Athletics, poses for a portrait in front of historic Wiley Hall, located on campus, on Wednesday. Credit: James Escher
Mike Notebaert, USMMA baseball coach since 2009 and an assistant AD, has seen Schnatz set a standard for Mariners coaches.
“He doesn’t specifically tell you, ‘You have to win or you’re in trouble,’ or anything like that,” Notebaert said. “But he does set expectations for running a clean program and graduating kids . . . giving them a good experience, being competitive.
“ . . . He gives us the support and the budgetary needs that we have to try to get there.”
USMMA claimed the Skyline Conference’s Presidents Cup as the top athletic program three of the last four years.
“We went from having really good teams to having a successful athletic program across the board,” Schnatz said. “We really support each other . . . And, really, we have our eyes set on building new facilities that support the midshipman experience.”
The former casino boat captain has found his place to dock.
“I’m not a Kings Pointer, but I feel like a Kings Pointer because I’ve really jumped all in with both feet,” Schnatz said. “I can see myself finishing the next 15 years here as the director of athletics, and I’d be thrilled to do so.”
