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

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

Learn more about the panelists below!

Resources:

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

22-23 Women's Basketball game schedule: https://denverpioneers.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule 
   
Most recent podcast: 'OUR STORIES: Doshia Woods - A Look Into Her Life and How She Helps Others': https://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 and 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 and Analytics in 2021. She was also a 2x captain of the Denver Gymnastics team and 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 and 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 and seven-straight NCAA Regional Final appearances. In addition to the hockey success, Berlo’s programs won three individual national championships (track and field) and five different programs were in the top five of the national rankings in their respective sports (women’s volleyball, football, women’s cross country and men’s and women’s hockey).

In 2017-18, Berlo was named the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Division II AD of the Year. At Duluth, Berlo headed UMD's deliberate focus on the student-athlete experience and 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.

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 and the Bulldogs finished in the top 50 of the D-II Directors' Cup five times (of eight possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic). 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 in 2022. The two hockey programs 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 and hockey teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament and earned a combined three conference regular season and tournament titles. In total, 15 of UMD's 16 varsity programs advanced to NCAA postseason competition in Berlo’s tenure. 

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

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 and event marketing.

Berlo serves on the Executive Committee of the prestigious Sports Management Institute which was founded as a joint venture of athletic departments and business administration schools at the founding universities (USC, Notre Dame and North Carolina) to create a highly academic, graduate-level business program for athletic administrators. Since its founding, Michigan and Texas joined in 2000 and 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 and communication from Notre Dame in 2004. He and 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 and percentage. 
   
Coach Woods has been featured on various podcast promoting the values of the team's culture (PROGRESS purpose, resilience, ownership, gratitude, respect, energy, support and sacrifice). Her appearances include discussing the team's Life 4.0 program. A program designed to discuss life issues. 

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