Sept. 18, 2006

Notre Dame, Ind. – Michael Bertsch, assistant director of media relations at Wake Forest University, has been named assistant sports information director at the University of Notre Dame. In his position, he will work with the football, men’s basketball and men’s and women’s tennis programs, and also will serve as the publicist and archivist for the Notre Dame Monogram Club.

Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Bertsch spent three years (2003-06) at Wake Forest where he worked with numerous sports. Most recently, he served as the primary contact for the Demon Deacons nationally-ranked men’s soccer and baseball teams and served in a secondary role working with the football and men’s basketball programs. In addition he served as chief editor of Kickoff, the official game day program for Wake Forest football and the Wake Forest Men’s Basketball Yearbook. The 2005-06 edition of the men’s basketball yearbook finished third in the country in the College Sports Information Directors (CoSIDA) publications contest.

Bertsch spent two years (2001-03) as assistant media relations director at UNC Greensboro where he was the primary contact for women’s soccer, women’s basketball and baseball and assisted with the publication of the athletic department newsletter, Spartan Sports. He also served as the media coordinator for the 2002 Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Tournament.

A 1998 graduate of Walsh College with a bachelor’s of arts degree in communications in December of 1998, he was a four-year member of the school’s men’s soccer team. He also received a master’s of science degree in health and physical education with an emphasis in sports administration from Marshall University in May of ’01.

Bertsch served a two-year stint from June 1999 thru August of ’01first as a graduate assistant and then as assistant media relations director at Marshall University. He was the primary media contact for the Thundering Herd’s men’s soccer, volleyball and softball teams and assisted with the ’99 Heisman Trophy campaign for finalist Chad Pennington. Bertsch also assisted with the production of several documentary films that were produced on the 30th Anniversary of the Marshall University DC-9 Plane Tragedy.

The Akron, Ohio native has worked NCAA tournament events and has served on the media relations committees of the ’06 NCAA First and Second rounds in Greensboro, N.C., the 2004 NCAA First and Second rounds in Raleigh, N.C., and the 2002 East Regional in Syracuse, N.Y. He also has been the primary media coordinator for several other events, including the ’03 ITA Southeast Regional Indoor Tennis Championship.