Michael Scholze joined Cleveland State Athletics in March of 2025 as the Senior Associate Athletics Director of Marketing and Brand Engagement.
In his current role, Scholze serves as the sport administrator for volleyball while overseeing the marketing, branding and communications units at Cleveland State.
Scholze arrived in Cleveland after spending six years at Ohio, where he oversaw the digital strategy, communications, branding, and licensing units while also serving as a sport administrator. Focusing on storytelling and amplifying all athletics efforts, Scholze led the most followed and most engaged social media accounts in the Mid-American Conference. During the 2020 men's basketball postseason run, the digital strategy and communications offices led efforts resulting in $191 million in broadcast and social media exposure for Ohio University and Bobcats Athletics. The 2022 football season saw Ohio lead all football programs in video views, engagements and reach in the MAC and was top-10 in the group of five.
Concentrating on experiential opportunities, Scholze led a robust student content team in Athens which has placed 42 undergraduate students into major professional or Division I collegiate sports upon graduation. Ohio has student videography, photography, content development and communications units.
Scholze arrived in Athens after working at Delaware, where he served as the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications and was the primary communications contact for the Blue Hens’ volleyball, baseball, rowing and swimming & diving programs.
Before Delaware, Scholze spent two years as an Athletic Communications and Public Relations Assistant at the University of Kentucky, where he served as the primary contact and content creator for the Wildcats’ nationally ranked volleyball, gymnastics and men’s tennis teams. In 2017, Scholze and the Wildcats hosted the first & second rounds as well as the regional finals of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, where UK advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. That same season, Scholze coordinated the publicity efforts of the Kentucky Gymnastics team that advanced to the National Championships for the first time in program history.
Scholze got his start in collegiate athletics at the University of Toledo, where he served as the social media coordinator for the department while also serving as the primary athletics communications contact for baseball, soccer, track & field and cross country.
Previously, Scholze held internships with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, Cleveland Monsters, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Southern Ohio Copperheads.
Scholze is a two-time graduate of Ohio University, and graduated from the AECOM Center for Sports Administration at Ohio in 2021. Scholze is a native of Wooster, Ohio, and resides in University Heights with his wife, Marissa.
