The University of Denver has named Josh Berlo as the new vice chancellor for athletics and Ritchie Center operations. Berlo brings more than 20 years of experience in collegiate athletics program leadership. Since 2013, he has served as the director of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), where he helped usher in the most successful era of the program’s history. Among the feats: two men’s ice hockey national championships.
“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,” says Chancellor Jeremy Haefner.
In 2017–18, Berlo was named the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Division II AD of the Year. In his time at Duluth, he headed UMD’s deliberate focus on the student-athlete experience and led fundraising efforts for the Bulldogs’ sport programs. To help expand the national profile of the UMD athletics department, he also made fan experience and engagement a top priority.
Berlo will oversee DU’s athletics department and its 18 NCAA Division I programs, which boast a combined 34 national championships and 127 individual national titles. The storied program also captured 12 of the last 13 I-AAA Directors’ Cups, making it the most successful non-football school in the country.
“I couldn’t be more excited than to have Josh join us as DU’s new AD,” says Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Clark, who co-chaired the search committee. “I look forward to collaborating with him as we continue to build out our 4D student experience, where student-athletes have long led in this space. My warm congratulations to Josh and his family as they join the DU family!”
Berlo, who earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA in finance and communication from Notre Dame, welcomes the move to DU. “DU offers a world-class experience for our student athletes, coaches and staff,” he says, “and I look forward to contributing to that experience as well as the overall institutional mission.”
