Birthdate: July 17, 1951
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
High School: Roger Bacon HS (Cincinnati) 1970
College: University of Cincinnati (1974)
Year Inducted: 2019

A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Mike Sanzere began officiating in 1969 while in his junior year at Roger Bacon High School in Cincinnati. He worked high school games for 10 years before moving into Division I collegiate basketball in 1979 when he was hired for Midwestern City Conference games.

Sanzere spent 35 years officiating Division I college games. He worked 9 DI conferences including the Big 10 and Big 12, and officiated 37 Conference Championship games. Mike worked 25 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, 14 Regionals, three Final Fours, and the National Championship game in 1998 between Kentucky and Utah. He also officiated five NCAA Division III national championship games. In 2015 Mike was honored as the Naismith Official of the Year.

Sanzere worked in industrial sales for eight years, then owned a family sports apparel business for 24 years. Following retirement, he worked in corporate events and catering for Graeters Ice Cream for 10 years before joining the Collegiate Officiating Consortium, LLC. He is now responsible for scheduling, evaluating and training officials.