Minnesota Duluth athletic director Josh Berlo leaving for job in Denver

DULUTH — University of Minnesota Duluth athletic director Josh Berlo is leaving his position for a similar role with one of the Bulldogs' strongest athletic rivals.

The University of Denver, with its 18 Division I sports, introduced Berlo as its new vice chancellor of athletics and Ritchie Center operations on Thursday morning at the on-campus athletics facility. The university's chancellor Jeremy Haefner credited Berlo as a skilled fundraiser with a strong commitment to academics.

"We are terrifically thrilled to have found Josh," Haefner said in a news conference that is available for streaming. "His experience and values are in perfect alignment with the university and our commitment to provide a four-dimensional experience for all of our students."

Berlo's first day at Denver is July 15. UMD's athletics department said it will have more details about finding a replacement next week.

Berlo started at UMD in 2013 after 13 years at the University of Notre Dame. He has hired eight head coaches in the past nine years, including women's hockey coach Maura Crowell, who was named NCAA Division I Coach of the Year in 2017, and women's basketball coach Mandy Pearson, who was Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 2020.

Fifteen of UMD's teams have advanced to the NCAA tournament while Berlo has led the athletics department. Denver spoiled the Bulldogs' chance for a return to the men's hockey Frozen Four in March in Loveland, Colo.

Berlo wore a tie in Denver colors to Thursday's news conference, and when Denver's chancellor handed him a Pioneers' hockey jersey, Berlo addressed the rivalry with a joke.

Last week, Karen Stromme and Gary Holquist, two former coaches who made moves to the administrative part of Duluth's athletics department, announced they were both retiring. The married couple has a combined 75 years at UMD.