Jan. 25, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — University of Notre Dame men’s soccer coach Mike Berticelli died of an apparent heart attack Tuesday morning at his home. He was 48.
In South Bend, visitation will take place Thursday from 2:00-4:00 p.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m. EST at the McGann Funeral Home (University Chapel) at 2313 East Edison Road in South Bend. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 3:30 p.m. EST on Friday at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus.
Berticelli will be buried in Laurel Hill Cemetary in Seco, Maine. Visitation will take place Sunday, Jan. 30, from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. EST at the Cote Funeral Home located on Beach Street in Seco, Maine. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Monday, Jan. 31, at 11:00 a.m. EST at St. Margaret’s Church in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
“Mike Berticelli will be missed greatly at Notre Dame,” said Notre Dame Director of Athletics Mike Wadsworth. “His record of achievement and long list of honors speaks to his expertise as a soccer coach. However, that is only one dimension of the man. He was a devout family man who was passionate about his role as a mentor and coach to his student-athletes. He was a vital member of our coaching fraternity whose extroverted manner and wonderful sense of humor kept in balance why we engage in intercollegiate athletics. His life was too short, but his contribution to Notre Dame was great.”
Berticelli compiled a 104-80-19 record in 10 seasons as Irish head coach from 1990 through 1999.
Three of his Notre Dame teams participated in the NCAA tournament (1993, ’94 and ’96), including the ’96 squad that advanced to the second round after a 1-0 upset of second-rated North Carolina-Greensboro that marked Notre Dame’s first-ever NCAA victory in men’s soccer.
The Irish won the BIG EAST Tournament in ’96 in only the second season in the conference for the Notre Dame. Berticelli’s teams previously claimed back-to-back Midwestern Collegiate Conference crowns in 1993 and ’94.
His Irish team in ’95 was ranked as high as sixth early in the season — and his ’96 squad finished 17th in the final Soccer America poll.
A 1973 graduate of the University of Maine-Farmington, the Lewiston, Maine, native previously spent six years as head men’s soccer coach at Old Dominion (76-27-16 from 1984-89), four years as head men’s coach at North Carolina-Greensboro (70-9-5 from 1980-83, including NCAA Division III national titles in ’82 and ’83) and four years as head men’s coach at Thomas College (41-19-2 from 1976-79) in Waterville, Maine.
His 24-year career mark was 291-135-42. He received coach-of-the-year honors in 10 different seasons, including 1982 when he was named NCAA Division III coach of the year.
Berticelli, who played both soccer and basketball at Maine-Farmington, also earned a master’s degree from the University of Maine-Orono in 1976.
Born April 26, 1951, Berticelli is survived by his wife, Cinda, and two sons — Nino, a 1999 Notre Dame graduate, and Anthony, a junior at the University.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Mike Berticelli Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Athletic Department, University of Notre Dame, 112 Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Ind., 46556