BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Max Berkowitz collects recognition as the 2019 Northeast Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Sports Information Director of the Year.
The award marks the fourth honor bestowed exclusively to NWPC institutions following the division of the CWPA men’s teams into the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) and NWPC during the Summer of 2016.
The first MIT SID honored with the award, he is in his fifth year as a member of the Department of Athletics, Physical Education & Recreation (DAPER) Communications, Promotions and Marketing Office. Berkowitz currently serves as the main contact for sailing, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, squash, men’s tennis, men’s volleyball and water polo.
Berkowitz has helped the MIT Athletics Department secure its presence on all social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and has helped introduce many new items to the Communications, Promotions and Marketing staff. He launched the “Game of the Week” program which simulcasts select home games onto Facebook Live and in just one year, had over 60,000 views across several streaming platforms. Berkowitz also designed digital game programs for every home game showcasing active links to rosters, stats, standings and in the summer of 2018 launched a “Photo of the Year” social media contest where fans, parents, student-athletes, and alumni could vote for their favorite picture of the year in a bracket of 16 photos. The contest saw over 6,000 people vote over the four-week contest.
Prior to arriving in Cambridge, he worked as a student assistant at Lasell College from 2012-15.
While at Lasell, Berkowitz compiled stats for all 17 varsity sports, wrote game recaps, posted on social media and used the Adobe Creative Suite to create graphics promoting upcoming events.
When not working with the Lasell Athletic Department, Berkowitz served as official scorers for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League and the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse (MLL). Prior to working in intercollegiate athletics, Berkowitz worked in the professional sports industry as a security guard with the Boston Red Sox and as an intern with the Providence Bruins.
He also had the opportunity to intern at Wheaton College (Mass.), primarily as the main contact for men’s and women’s cross country but also kept statistics for all of the Lyons’ 21 varsity sports, managed set up and breakdown of events, maintained record books and developed “Wheaton Wednesday” on Twitter.
Berkowitz graduated magna cum laude from Lasell in May 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Management and received his Master’s Degree in Athletic Administration from Endicott College’s Van Loan School in May of 2019.
Information courtesy Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Athletics Communications
