Derek Koenen is in his fifth year at UND serving as UND's primary contact for women's hockey, soccer and softball.

Prior to joining UND's media relations staff, Koenen spent the previous two years as an athletics communications intern at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he was the primary contact for Maverick wrestling and men's and women's golf.

Koenen also served as a public relations intern with the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings from 2005-08 and was a full-time assistant each season during training camp. While with the Vikings, he was also a member of the Vikings' gameday staff during regular season and playoff home games and was responsible for coordinating press conferences and media requests.

Before joining the Vikings, Koenen was a sports journalist for the Marshall (Minn.) Independent.

A native of Marshall, Minn., Koenen received a bachelor's degree in mass communications and public relations with a marketing minor from Minnesota State in 2007.