DENVER – University of Denver Joy S. Burns Head Women's Gymnastics Coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart and Vice Chancellor for Athletics and Ritchie Center Operations Josh Berlo will begin NCAA committee work on September 1, which will run through the end of the 2027-28 athletic season. Kutcher-Rinehart will serve on the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Committee, while Berlo has been named to the NCAA Men's and Women's Soccer Rules Committee.
Kutcher-Rinehart rejoins the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Committee for the third time, having previously served on the committee from 2016-20 and 2000-04. The University of Florida alumna has been involved in collegiate gymnastics every year since stepping on the Gainesville campus as a freshman in 1989. Following five seasons as an assistant at the University of Michigan, Kutcher-Rinehart arrived on the DU campus ahead of the 1999 season and has been building the program throughout her 26 seasons into one of the pillars of Denver Athletics that it is today.
In addition to her three stints on the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Committee, Kutcher-Rinehart has previously served as a University of Denver Athletics Affairs Committee member (2009-14) and is currently a member of the WCGA Board of Directors (2021-present).
"What Melissa has done to build the Denver Gymnastics program into a national name speaks for itself," Associate Vice Chancellor, Deputy Athletic Director for Pioneer Health and Performance and DU women's gymnastics sport admin Julie Campbell said. "With the understanding of already two stints on this committee, I know she will take the pride and passion she brings to our program in representing the sport on the national level throughout the next four years as the committee helps navigate the changing world of college athletics."
Through her first 26 seasons in-charge, Kutcher-Rinehart has guided the Pioneers to 25-consecutive NCAA Regionals appearances and six NCAA Nationals team berths while accumulating a 492-218-5 head coaching record. Among her many accomplishments is Denver's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championship Final (2019) where DU finished a record-breaking fourth overall. In her career, Kutcher-Rinehart has had at least one individual qualify for NCAA Nationals in 23 of the last 24 years that the competition was held – including two NCAA individual national champions: Lynnzee Brown on floor exercise in 2019 and Nina McGee on floor exercise in 2016.
In 2019, Kutcher-Rinehart was named the WCGA National Head Coach of the Year. Since Kutcher-Rinehart became head coach, the Pioneers have finished the season in the top 25 every season including in the top 10 six times. Under her tutelage, the Pioneers have broken the team scoring record on every event – including the highest team total of 198.150 on March 5, 2023. Each of the top 10 overall scores in school history have come under her watch.
Berlo is no stranger to NCAA committee work as well, having been previously named to the NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey selection committee in 2020. The former Minnesota Duluth AD joined the Denver staff in July of 2022, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience in collegiate athletics including nine years at Duluth.
In conjunction with the campus-wide rebranding upon his arrival, Berlo has made a tremendous impact in updating the look and feel of the Daniel L. Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness, prioritizing the spaces that have the greatest impact on the student-athlete experience. Denver has continued its storied success in the Directors' Cup among I-AAA schools during Berlo's tenure, most recently claiming its NCAA-record 10th NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship in St. Paul in April. Denver has also seen unprecedented growth under Berlo in both attendance numbers and revenue numbers across multiple areas of the department.
"Josh's firsthand experience guiding pivotal decisions at the University of Denver underscores his capacity to champion our sport and its student-athletes experience effectively," Jack and Sheila Weinberg Head Men's Soccer Coach Jamie Franks said. "I have full confidence in his ability to drive positive change on a national scale during his tenure on the NCAA Soccer Rules Committee. The belief that a student-athlete learns character development through experience is at the core of his mission and should help push men's soccer to a more productive model that promotes the health and well-being of the individuals over the entire calendar year.
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