Mario Mercurio is in his fifth year as Xavier University's first-ever Director of Basketball Administration under head coach Sean Miller. He spent three years working with Thad Matta's staff and also worked two years under the late former head coach Skip Prosser. Among other things, Mercurio's responsibilities include non-conference scheduling and coordination of all team travel. He has served as the budget administrator for the men's basketball program for the past five years. 2008 will mark the first season Mercurio will serve as the team's academic administrator. In addition, Mercurio served for the past five years as Xavier's liaison to Nike Basketball. Miller said Mercurio's passion for Xavier makes the program better. "Mario is a Xavier graduate who also earned his MBA here and has been a part of Coach Prosser's staff, our staff with Coach Matta for three years and our current staff for three years. He has been a part of our success in many ways. He is in constant communication with our players and they rely on his experience as a Cincinnati native and Xavier graduate. Mario knows what the Xavier mission statement is all about because he has lived it. His positive influence over our players has a significant impact on their success as people in our program." Since taking over scheduling with Miller in 2004, Xavier has added home-and-home series with Virginia, LSU, Kansas State, Arizona State, Butler and Auburn. Signing high major neutral court games has also been an important part of the Miller scheduling philosophy. Most recently, in the spring of 2008, Mercurio worked closely with Duke and the Meadowlands Sports Complex to create this year's December national television matchup between the two schools. In 2005 Xavier inked a two- year neutral court series with Illinois. With games at Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena and Chicago's United Center, that series marked Xavier's return to the Chicago area. Additionally, Mercurio worked with Pantheon International to help Xavier make its third appearance in the prestigious Wooden Tradition. The 2005 matchup with Purdue took place at Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse. With high profile exempt events becoming an important staple in Xavier's non-conference slate, Mercurio has worked hard to secure spots in some of the country's top events. Xavier participated in the 2006 Paradise Jam with Villanova and Alabama. In 2007, Xavier won the Chicago Challenge with a field that included the Big Ten's Indiana. In 2008, Xavier faces a field at the ESPN Puerto Rico Tip-Off that includes Memphis, USC, Missouri and Virginia Tech. Future contracts that Xavier has secured include ESPN's 2009 Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Florida and a return to the Paradise Jam in 2010. In addition to his work at Xavier, Mercurio has also been a part of Larry Brown's and John Calipari's yearly basketball retreat. Twice over the last five years, Mercurio was selected to produce a book compiling notes from the retreat. The hundred-plus page book is distributed only to members of the retreat, and consists of ideas, thoughts, philosophies, and plays from some of the greatest basketball minds today. Attendees of the retreat over the past three years have included Jerry West, Isiah Thomas and Jeff Van Gundy among others. Mercurio was one of only two administrators included on College Bound Hoops 2008 rankings (recruitingrumors.com) of the Top 100 assistant coaches in college basketball. A Cincinnati Saint Xavier High School graduate, Mercurio, 28, graduated in 2003 from Xavier's Williams College of Business with a double major in finance and marketing. He also received his MBA at Xavier. Currently residing in Oakley, Mercurio was born on December 7, 1979 in Cincinnati. |
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