Bio

The University of the District of Columbia hired Matt Rienzo as the Associate Director of Athletics for Marketing and Communications on June 1, 2011.  On August 16, 2014 he was promoted to Senior Associate Director of Athletics.

As a senior level administrator in the Athletic Department, Rienzo oversees marketing and communications, sports information, and game-day operations, and he is heavily involved with both external relations and internal operations functions.  He is the sport administrator for men's and women's lacrosse and the men's soccer programs, and he supervises the department's internship program and Federal Work Study positions.

During Rienzo’s time at UDC, the Athletic Department has experienced significant growth in marketing and communications, and he is responsible for the ongoing rebranding of the Firebird Athletic Department. As such, he managed the redesign of the Athletic Department’s website www.udcfirebirds.com in the summer of 2012, and he developed a social media platform for the Firebirds on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Rienzo created, hosts, and produces the Athletic Department’s monthly television show, Firebird Nation Sports Update, which is available in 187,000 households in Washington, DC.  Rienzo also created and hosts the Firebird Fan Podcast, and he created and oversees the Firebird Blog. 

Rienzo serves as the Chair of the university’s Strategic Communications Task Force, working with university-wide communications representatives. In that capacity, he helped the university develop a university communications plan in the August of 2013, and he helped launch the UDC E-newsletter in August of 2014. Rienzo also served on the university’s Strategic Planning Committee, assisting with the creation of the university’s Vision 2020 Strategic Plan. He currently serves as the East Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Chair.

Rienzo was instrumental in the formation of the first ever Booster Club for Athletics, Firebirds Forever, as well as the Inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Rienzo has been heavily involved in developing and cultivating relationships with corporate partners in the Washington, DC community. Rienzo organizes all game-day marketing and promotions for the Athletic Department, and he oversees game day ticket and concession sales for men’s and women’s basketball.

Rienzo organizes game-day operations at all home contests, and he was instrumental in the Firebirds live-streaming all home men’s and women’s basketball contests. He is responsible for implementing community service and engagement initiatives such as: Youth Day, Make-A-Wish, Coaches vs. Cancer, Military Appreciation Day, and Senior Day. He assisted with the creation of the ongoing Student-athlete Development Programming and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Rienzo organizes many internal events as well as Athletic Department participation in external events including: alumni events, Admissions Open House, Homecoming, Student-Athlete Recognition Banquet, Student-Athlete Orientation, Athletics Hall of Fame, intramurals, and golf outing.

Rienzo came to UDC from Georgetown University, where he served as an assistant lacrosse coach for ten years. During Rienzo's tenure, the Georgetown men's lacrosse team reached the NCAA Quarterfinals six times. While at Georgetown University, Rienzo coached 37 All-Americans, seven USILA Scholar All-Americans, and three COSIDA Academic All-Americans Scholar All-Americans.

Rienzo served on the lacrosse staff at the University of Notre Dame in 2001, helping the Irish advance to the NCAA Semifinals for the first time in school history. Prior to his stint at Notre Dame, Rienzo was the Assistant Dean of Students and Head Lacrosse Coach at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. He guided his alma mater to a 14-7 record in 2000 as Gonzaga advanced to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Finals. In 2004, Rienzo was inducted into Gonzaga College High School's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Rienzo graduated from Georgetown University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a minor in Theology. In May of 2010, he completed a Master's degree in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University.