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CMU alumnus to work as Medical Coordinator at CFP National Championship Game

’10, ’14 grad credits CMU education and mentors for his success

| Author: Jason Fielder | Media Contact: Jason Fielder

On January 20, a Central Michigan University alumnus will be standing on the sidelines of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, ready to assist an important group of players – the members of the marching band.

CMU alumnus Matt Brancaleone, PhD, PT, DPT, AT, works as the Medical Coordinator for the OSU Marching Band. His duties include providing athletic training services to band members. The job is a percentage of his clinical work as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Ohio State.

A man in a black jacket, red hat, and black sunglasses tends to a marching band member sitting on a bench.
Matt Brancaleone tends to an OSU Marching Band member.

“We are extremely excited!” Brancaleone says. “There is a buzz in the air that we were all hoping for at the beginning of the year.”

CMU impact

Brancaleone is in his 10th season as the OSU band’s Medical Coordinator. He’s worked at the university for nearly 11 years, gaining employment shortly after graduating from CMU’s Herbert H. & Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions with a Doctorate in physical therapy in 2014. It’s Brancaleone’s second degree from CMU. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in athletic training in 2010.

A man wearing a black zipped-up jacket and red hat stands and smiles with his arms outstretched.
Matt Brancaleone poses while on the field at the 2025 Rose Bowl.

“Though I believe the education and clinical opportunities laid the foundation to get me where I am today,” Brancaleone says, “I think the biggest impact that CMU had on me was the relationships with mentors I developed during my time there and beyond.”

Brancaleone cites this trio of professors as his special mentors: Dr. Rene Shingles, Dr. Deborah Silkwood-Sherer, and Dr. John Andraka. 

“These three, whether they know it or not, have had such an impact on my career,” Brancaleone says. “Without these three individuals, I don't believe my time at CMU, transition to Ohio State, and subsequent clinical and academic career would have been as fruitful.”

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