As WVU’s Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for Communications, Michael Fragale directs and oversees the Athletics Communications unit, consisting of sports information, publications, graphic design, website content and WVU’s broadcast unit for Big 12 Now on ESPN+. He is also the secondary media contact for West Virginia football.
All areas of Athletics Communications have been enhanced and expanded under his watch with major upgrades to equipment, event streaming, graphic design, video production and social media platforms. WVU’s Athletics Communications Office is a yearly award winner for national awards presented by the College Sports Communicators, including the most in the nation in three of the last five years.
Under his watch in 2020 and again in 2023, WVU’s sports information efforts for football were awarded the prestigious Super 11 Award by the Football Writers of America, honoring WVU as one of the nation’s best in college football media services.
Fragale joined the athletics staff as associate sports information director and served in that role for three years before becoming the broadcast/advertising manager. In different job responsibilities and roles with the Mountaineers, he has directed or been involved in almost all aspects of WVU’s external operations.
His experience includes managing affiliate relations for WVU’s radio and television network, coordinating WVU’s live football and basketball television broadcasts, scheduling, producing, and overseeing the weekly television shows for football and men’s basketball and playing a production role in the football and basketball radio broadcasts for the Mountaineer Sports Network. Fragale also has worked with WVU’s creative marketing campaign teams, focusing on the production of television and radio commercials, advertising placements and the department sales efforts.
During his tenure in WVU’s broadcast division, he was part of the Mountaineer Sports Network production team that led the radio and television networks to numerous state, regional and national awards in weekly programming, highlight films and live broadcasts.
After 15 years on the broadcast and advertising side, Fragale moved back into public relations as the director of communications for athletics in 2004. He became an assistant athletic director in 2007, associate athletic director in 2014, senior associate athletic director in 2016 and in 2024, was promoted to Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director under Wren Baker.
In 2021, he added the responsibilities of chairing the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame committee and the Mountaineer Legends Society committee. In 2023, he became the department’s liaison to WVU’s FOIA office and the department’s communications liaison with WVU’s Central Administration and University Relations.
Fragale is a member of College Sports Communicators, the Football Writers of America and the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
Fragale received his bachelor’s degree in journalism from WVU and a master’s degree in sport management and administration from WVU. He and his wife, Kate, reside in Morgantown and have two grown children, Anthony and Emme.
