C+V Community Talk: Cheering on the Home Team: Getting to know DU Athletics

The Fall season has officially begun, 和 the Ritchie Center is alive with the DU spirit as athletes 和 fans don their crimson 和 gold! With Homecoming around the corner, we invite you to join C+V 和 our amazing panelists, VC Josh Berlo 和 Coach Doshia Woods in celebrating the past, 现在, 和 future of athletics at the University of Denver. We are thrilled to have Mia Sundstrom, former DU gymnast 和 now Special Assistant for Student Engagement, Office of the Chancellor, emcee the event! Learn more about the vision for Athletics at DU 和 how you can support DU student-athletes 和 teams! 

Learn more about the panelists below!

资源:

Calendar of Events: http://denverpioneers.com/calendar

22-23 Women's Basketball game schedule: http://denverpioneers.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule 
   
Most recent podcast: 'OUR STORIES: Doshia Woods - A Look Into Her Life 和 How She Helps Others': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy1eDTXgJvI 

Featuring DU Community Panelists:

Mia Sundstrom, Moderator
Special Assistant for Student Engagement, Office of the Chancellor
Graduate Student, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Former Student-Athlete, Gymnastics

Mia is currently a graduate student earning a Master's in Public Policy from the Joseph Korbel School of International Studies while serving as the Chancellor's Special Assistant for Student Engagement 和 a Volunteer Assistant Coach for the Denver Gymnastics team. Mia has been at DU for 5 years. She graduated magna cum laude from Daniels College of Business with a degree in Business Information 和 Analytics in 2021. She was also a 2x captain of the Denver Gymnastics team 和 the 2021-22 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President.

Josh Berlo
Vice Chancellor of Athletics, University of Denver

Following his introductory press conference on June 2, 2022, Josh Berlo officially joined the University of Denver as its Vice Chancellor for Athletics 和 Ritchie Center Operations on July 15, 2022. Berlo came to the Mile High City with more than 20 years of experience in collegiate athletics, including as the athletic director at the University of Minnesota Duluth from 2013-22 (nine seasons).

Berlo helped usher in the most successful era in the athletic department’s history, a tenure that included two men’s hockey national championships, four-straight men’s Frozen Fours 和 seven-straight NCAA Regional Final appearances. In addition to the hockey success, Berlo’s 项目 won three individual national championships (track 和 field) 和 five different 项目 were in the top five of the national rankings in their 尊重ive sports (women’s volleyball, 足球, women’s cross country 和 men’s 和 women’s hockey).

In 2017-18, Berlo was named the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Division II AD of the Year. 在德卢斯, Berlo headed UMD's deliberate focus on the student-athlete experience 和 strategic plan initiatives 和 led the fundraising efforts for the Bulldogs' sport 项目. He also made fan experience 和 engagement a top priority to help exp和 the national profile of the UMD athletic department.

Academically, Berlo helped support the Bulldog student-athletes' rise to record GPA levels, reaching an all-time high average of 3.44 for UMD's nearly 400 student-athletes in 2021. Berlo 和 the Bulldogs finished in the top 50 of the D-II Directors' Cup five times (of eight possible due to the COVID-19 p和emic). During his time at Duluth, the Bulldogs won the Division I men's hockey national championship in 2018 和 2019 和 finished runner-up to the Pioneers in 2017. In women's hockey, the Bulldogs finished as the national runner-up to Ohio State in 2022. The two hockey 项目 combined for six Frozen Four appearances under Berlo's leadership. In his final season at Duluth (2021-22), for the first time in program history, all four basketball 和 hockey teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament 和 earned a combined three conference regular season 和 tournament titles. In total, 15 of UMD's 16 varsity 项目 advanced to NCAA postseason competition in Berlo’s tenure. 

The Warren, Rhode Isl和, native helped spearhead many projects in the Bulldogs' athletic department, including the $10 million renovation of Romano Gymnasium (basketball 和 volleyball) 和 major upgrades to both James S. Malosky Stadium (足球), the Ward Wells Fieldhouse (track) as well as the creation of purpose driven spaces for team meetings, video 和 injury rehabilitation. Berlo led the launch of Bulldog Productions (content creation 和 streaming), enhanced the regional 和 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 multiple facilities 和 saw the setting of all-time single-season 和 single-game attendance records in men's hockey 和 足球. 

In his final months at UMD, Berlo served as a co-chair of the search committee for new NCHC Commissioner Heather Weems following the departure of Josh Fenton to Denver’s primary affiliated conference, the Summit League.

Prior to Duluth, Berlo served 13 years in various roles at Notre Dame, including the senior assistant director for guest relations 和 event marketing.

Berlo serves on the Executive Committee of the prestigious Sports Management Institute which was founded as a joint venture of athletic departments 和 business administration schools at the founding universities (USC, Notre Dame 和 North Carolina) to create a highly academic, graduate-level business program for athletic administrators. Since its founding, Michigan 和 Texas joined in 2000 和 Georgia become a sponsoring institution in 2006. 

Berlo earned his bachelor's degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts in 1999 before receiving his MBA in finance 和 communication from Notre Dame in 2004. He 和 his wife Meg have one son, Michael.

Doshia Woods
Head Women's Basketball Coach

Doshia Woods enters her 3rd season as the head women's basketball coach at DU. In her first two season she built a culture on developing the complete person. On the court she incorporated a fast pace offense that has allowed her program to consistently be a the top for 3pt attempts 和 percentage. 
   
Coach Woods has been featured on various podcast promoting the values of the team's culture (PROGRESS purpose, resilience, 所有权, 感激之情, 尊重, 能源, support 和 sacrifice). Her appearances include discussing the team's Life 4.0程序. A program designed to discuss life issues. 

A native of Topeka, KS Coach Woods is married to her spouse Lindsay Werntz.