Denver has announced the hiring of Josh Berlo as the new vice chancellor for athletics and Ritchie Center operations.
Berlo brings to DU over 20 years of experience in collegiate athletics program leadership. Since 2013, he has served as the director of intercollegiate athletics at Minnesota Duluth where he helped usher in the most successful era of the program’s history including two men’s hockey national championships. Previously, he served as the senior assistant director for guest relations and event marketing at Notre Dame.
“We are thrilled to welcome Josh to the University of Denver, and we are confident he has the experience, passion, skills and exciting ideas to thrive in this role,” said Denver chancellor Jeremy Haefner in a statement.
Berlo will oversee Denver’s athletics department and its 18 NCAA Division I programs that have combined to win 34 national championships, 127 individual national titles, and 12 of the last 13 I-AAA Directors’ Cups for the most successful non-football school in the country.
“My family is honored to be joining the prestigious University of Denver and its exceptional academic and athletic traditions,” Berlo said. “DU offers a world-class experience for our student athletes, coaches and staff and I look forward to contributing to that experience as well as the overall institutional mission.”
In 2017-18, Berlo was named the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Division II AD of the Year. In his time at Duluth, Berlo headed UMD’s deliberate focus on the student-athlete experience, strategic plan initiatives and led the fundraising efforts for the Bulldogs’ sport programs. He also made fan experience and engagement a top priority to help expand the national profile of the UMD athletic department. Recently he served as a co-chair of the search committee for new NCHC commissioner Heather Weems.
The Warren, R.I., native helped spearhead many projects in the Bulldogs’ athletic department, including the $10 million renovation of Romano Gymnasium (basketball and volleyball) as well as major upgrades to both James S. Malosky Stadium (football) and the Ward Wells Fieldhouse (track). Berlo led the launch of Bulldog Productions (streaming), enhanced the regional and national TV footprint, signed an equipment apparel deal that more than doubled the value previous provided, oversaw the addition of new LED video boards in four of its facilities and saw the setting of all-time single-season and single-game attendance records in men’s hockey and football.
In his nine seasons, Berlo and the Bulldogs finished in the top 50 of the DII Directors’ Cup five times (of seven possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and currently sits in 29th through the winter sports calendar, which would mark the highest finish in his tenure. During his time at Duluth, the Bulldogs won the Division I men’s hockey national championship in 2018 and 2019, and finished runner-up to the Pioneers in 2017. In women’s hockey, the Bulldogs finished as the national runner-up to Ohio State this past spring.
Berlo earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management from UMass in 1999 before finishing his MBA in finance and communication from Notre Dame in 2004.
