Mark Fratto

				Position: Director of Athletic Communications

Mark Fratto joined St. John's Athletics in August 2005 as the Red Storm Director of Athletic Communications. Fratto oversees the media relations and publicity efforts for all 17 of St. John's varsity sports teams, serving as the lead sports information contact for Red Storm men's basketball.

Fratto and his staff are responsible for coordinating all media interviews and producing media guides, press releases, game programs and other materials used to garner publicity for St. John's Athletics. He and his staff are responsible for the administration of RedStormSports.com, the University's official athletics website. Fratto also serves as the athletics department's chief liaison with St. John's radio broadcast team and works on the production of the Red Storm Report television show.

A former Assistant Media Relations Director at the University of Maryland, Fratto was the lead contact for future Hall of Fame coach Gary Williams and the Terrapin men's basketball program. He served as the media relations director for men's basketball and several Maryland teams from 1999-2005. He played host to large-scale media events such as ESPN College Basketball GameDay's visit to the College Park campus, and served as media coordinator for several NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference championship events. Several of his media guides have been cited in the nation's top 10 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

A native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Fratto has tasted the ultimate in the collegiate profession, serving as a media relations contact for the Terrapins as they captured the 2002 NCAA men's basketball championship. He also accompanied the Terps during their 2001 Final Four run and was the lead contact during their Atlantic Coast Conference title campaign in 2004.

Fratto graduated from the State University of New York, College at Geneseo, with a degree in Mass Communication in 1999, and fulfilled graduate coursework in sports administration at Maryland. Fratto further completed several summer stints in the United States Military Academy Media Relations Office, learning from one of the nation's finest sports information operations in Army's publicity efforts.

In addition to his sports information background, Fratto has experience behind the microphone, serving as public address announcer for several minor league baseball squads and calling a variety of intercollegiate contests at Maryland, Army, Geneseo and St. John's.