Judy Ann Riccio was named executive director of athletics at Sacred Heart University on Sept. 8, 2021. Riccio, who had served as interim director until getting the nod, became the first female athletics director to lead the University’s Division I athletics program.
A recent member of the NCAA Division I FCS Oversight Committee, Riccio is truly a Pioneer at Sacred Heart as one of the few women Division I athletics directors at institutions that sponsor football. Adding to her “pioneer” distinction is her unique background and steady leadership during a period of historic growth and transformation for SHU Athletics.
Since becoming athletics director, Riccio has overseen multiple NIL initiatives and implemented Real Response, a two-way, safe communication platform for Pioneer student-athletes. Under her direction, Sacred Heart opened its first on-campus hockey venue, Martire Family Arena, and completed a major renovation of the Pitt Center arena. She also successfully guided Sacred Heart through a landmark transition in conference affiliation, positioning the University for long-term competitive and institutional success with its move to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for most sports and the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Football conference.
Riccio, who helped raise more than $5 million in her first year as AD, has guided Sacred Heart Athletics to success both on the field and in the classroom. During the 2022–23 season, the SHU women’s basketball team became the first program in Northeast Conference history to win an NCAA Tournament game, doing so just months after the opening of Martire Family Arena. That same year, the Pioneers captured NEC Cups for overall athletic excellence and academic success. Overall, Sacred Heart teams have won four conference cups during her tenure as athletics director.
Prior to being named interim athletics director, Riccio served for 17 years as executive director of the divisional budget and chief financial officer for intercollegiate athletics, overseeing the department’s expanding budget and playing a key role in the strategic allocation of institutional resources. She added senior woman administrator responsibilities to her role in July 2020 and has been involved in all aspects of athletics administration, giving her deep institutional knowledge of Sacred Heart’s programs and history.
Riccio has also focused on enhancing the fan and student-athlete experience, including the creation of the Outpost Hospitality Area at home events, and she helped guide the SHU cheerleading squad to back-to-back national championships.
She began her professional career as an auditor with Price Waterhouse before transitioning to higher education, working in the finance divisions at both Hofstra University and Fairfield University prior to joining Sacred Heart.
Riccio is a 1996 graduate of Fairfield University with a degree in accounting and earned her master’s degree in business administration from Hofstra University in 2000. A native of Seaford, N.Y., she resides in Trumbull with her husband, Frank, and their two children, Ryan and Lauren.
