May 27, 2003

Notre Dame, Ind. - Notre Dame head strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti was branded with the highest honor in his field of expertise when he was certified as a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach (MSCC) at the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches association's (CSCCa) third national conference held May 8-9 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Master Strength and Conditioning Coach title represents professionalism, knowledge, experience, expertise, as well as longevity in the field.

Marotti, who has been a member of the Notre Dame staff for six years, was one of 10 people to receive the honor at the 2003 convention and becomes one of only 36 people in the world to hold the Master Strength and Conditioning Coach certification.

In order to receive this certification and corresponding title, an individual must meet the following criteria including owning a bachelor's degree, currently practicing full-time on the collegiate level, being a member of the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa), being Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) by the CSCCa and working as a full-time, collegiate and/or professional strength and conditioning coach for a minimum of 12 years.

Marotti is responsible for the total development of sport-specific strength and conditioning programs for all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame. Before coming to Notre Dame, he worked in a similar capacity at the University of Cincinnati for eight years.

In addition to Marotti, the following people were honored as well: Jeff Conners (North Carolina), Ed Ellis (Georgia Tech), Mike Gentry (Virginia Tech), Terry Jones (Alabama), Jonathan Jost (Florida State), Ben Pollard (Alabama), Robb Rogers (Middle Tennessee State), Wade Russell (Ball State) and Don Sommer (TCU).