GORHAM, Maine – The University of Southern Maine Director of Athletics Al Bean is proud to announce the appointment of Matthew Cerullo to the Athletic Media Associate position Thursday afternoon.
 
"I'm extremely excited for this opportunity", said Cerullo. "I can't wait to enrich the student athlete experience here at USM and continue to grow and progress professionally learning as much as I can from Christina Cracolici who is highly regarded in the region and sports information industry." Cerullo will be the primary media contact for men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, men's golf and volleyball.
 
Cerullo, a native of Norwood, Mass., heads further north after five years as the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at Franklin Pierce University, a Division II institution in Rindge, N.H. At Pierce, Cerullo was the primary media contact for 10 Division II sports. He traveled with, the men's golf program, to the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship where he served as a team administrator. He also went on the road with men's golf for back-to-back-to-back NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional appearances in 2017, 2018, and 2019 and was the team administrator at the regionals in 2018 and 2019 as well. In fall 2019, Cerullo played a pivotal role in hosting the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship - Super Region 1 Second Round for the first time at Franklin Pierce since 2011. He then traveled with the team to the Super Region 1 Third Round, and Quarterfinals (Regional Championship Game) in Erie, Pa.

"I'm excited to welcome Matt aboard," said Cracolici, who will assume the role of Director of Athletic Communications on September 1. "Matt is passionate about telling the many diverse stories of student-athletes, and is eager to promote the outstanding achievements of our nearly 500 student-athletes, and our 22 intercollegiate teams."

While at Pierce, Cerullo also led an aggressive social media campaign (Twitter, Facebook & Instagram) during the fall of 2017 which resulted in the women's golf program being selected as the Northeast-10 Conference Team of the Month for September. The Ravens received 514 votes (38%) to narrowly edge out the nationally-ranked Assumption College Football team, which finished second in the voting with 491 votes (36%). 1,300 people voted on the NE10's social media pages, the highest turnout in the brief history of the honor. 

Before Franklin Pierce, Cerullo spent time as a graduate assistant at Regis (Mass.) College for a year and two months before filling the role of Interim Sports Information Director for the remainder of the academic year. At Regis, Cerullo was the main media contact for the 2015-16 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Women's Basketball Championship, and he traveled with the eventual conference champion Pride to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.

Cerullo is a 2013 graduate from Nichols College with a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in sports management, and earned his master's in organizational & professional communications from Regis in May of 2016. Prior to his time at Regis, he also served as an intern in the Sports Information department at Case Western Reserve University, a Division III institution in Cleveland, Ohio.