Sacred Heart University

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 sports program.

Riccio, a recent member of the NCAA Division I FCS Oversight Committee, is truly a Pioneer at Sacred Heart as one of the few women Division I athletic directors at schools with football programs. Adding to her “pioneer” distinction as an athletics director is her unique background.

Since she became the AD, the department has added multiple NIL initiatives and Real Response, a two-way, safe communication platform for Pio student-athletes, opened the school’s first on-campus hockey venue (Martire Family Arena) and cut the ribbon on a renovated Pitt Center arena. 

The Pio leader, who helped raise more than $5 million in her first year as AD, has guided athletics to success on the field and in the classroom. SHU women's basketball in 2022-23 became the first NEC school to win an NCAA Tournament game a few months after the grand opening of the on-campus, Martire Family Arena (hockey, figure skating). Riccio also saw the Pios win NEC Cups for overall supremacy in conference competition as well as for academic success that same year. There has been a total of four cups won during her time as AD.

She was executive director of the divisional budget and chief financial officer of intercollegiate athletics budgets for the 17 years prior to being named interim athletics director. Riccio had overseen the department’s growing budget and contributed to the strategic distribution of institutional funds.

Riccio, who added senior woman administrator duties to her SHU resume in July 2020 has been involved in all aspects of the administration of SHU athletics and is extremely familiar with the program and its history. She improved the fan experience at home SHU games with the implementation of the Outpost Hospitality Area and helped lead the SHU cheerleading squad to back-to-back national championships. 
 
Riccio began her career as an auditor for Price Waterhouse before moving to higher education. She worked 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. She received her master’s degree in business administration from Hofstra in 2000. A native of Seaford, N.Y., she currently resides in Trumbull with her husband, Frank, and two children, Ryan and Lauren.