Judy Rose
Honorary Alumna Award
Judy Rose has been a trailblazer throughout her remarkable 43-year career in athletics at UNC Charlotte. Her extraordinary career as Director of Athletics includes the greatest era of success and growth enjoyed by the 49ers. She was just the third woman to lead an NCAA Division I athletics program, became the first woman named to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and oversaw the construction of over $100 million worth of athletic facilities. With the 49ers, Rose oversaw the transition of the athletic program from the Sun Belt Conference to the Metro Conference to Conference USA.
Forty-four of the school’s 46 NCAA tournament team appearances and 70 of its 75 conference titles have come during Rose’s tenure. Over the last ten years, the 49ers have enjoyed 20 NCAA tournament team appearances and 40 league titles, striving for success across the board. Fourteen of the 49ers programs advanced to NCAA tournament play or won a league title or both under her guidance.
The 49ers never had a major NCAA violation under Rose. They enjoyed a string of 38 consecutive semesters in which the athletic department produced a higher GPA than the University’s overall student body, have a current string of 20 straight semesters with a cumulative GPA over 3.0 and currently boast a 93% graduation rate for student-athletes who have exhausted their athletic eligibility.
The 49ers have added seven sports under Rose’s guidance: women’s soccer, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, football and women’s golf. Also under her leadership, the athletic department was able to fully fund scholarships for the first time in program history. Sixty-six of the 69 endowed scholarships in the 49ers endowed scholarship program have been established during her tenure.
“Judy’s extensive accomplishments in her 43 years at UNC Charlotte speak for themselves,” says Darin Spease, Deputy Athletic Director. “Judy’s legacy on this campus is nothing less than extraordinary. She has played a transformational role not only in the athletics program but the university as a whole.”
Rose has been an active member of NCAA leadership, serving on numerous committees which include the men’s basketball committee (2000-2004) and the current NCAA Division I Council. She served as NACDA President in 2003-2004 and was named the NACDA Southeast Region Athletics Director of the Year in 2001. In 2013, she was a finalist for the Sports Business Journal Athletic Director of the Year.
“Judy has a gift for friend-raising,” states Gene Johnson ’73, chair of Exponential: The Campaign for UNC Charlotte. “She would not be successful if not for her ability to build strong relationships, and that success has transformed UNC Charlotte.”