COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – Judy Wilkins Rose ’74, the long-time athletic director for the University of North Carolina Charlotte, will be honored as a 2022 inductee into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.
The ceremony will take place May 23 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, South Carolina. The other three inductees are: Sidney Rice, a University of South Carolina and professional football player; Mike Ayers, head football coach at Wofford University; and Fred Hoover, a football trainer at Clemson University.
Known as a pioneer in women’s athletics, Rose spent 28 years as the Charlotte 49ers’ director of athletics and more than 40 years in its athletics department. She retired in 2018 and, three years later, was awarded the James J. Corbett Memorial Award, the highest honor given in collegiate athletics administration by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
A native of Blacksburg, South Carolina, Rose graduated from Winthrop with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education. She served as captain of the basketball team for three years, winning the Hellams Award her senior year as the outstanding physical education major.
She continued her education at the University of Tennessee where she received her master's degree in physical education while serving as an assistant to late Head Coach Pat Summitt.
Rose Helped Shape UNC Charlotte's Programs
Rose began her coaching career at UNC Charlotte as the basketball coach for the 49ers. Named assistant athletic director in 1981, she was named athletic director in 1990. In 1999-2000, she became the first female to serve on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. She served a five-year term (2000-04) on that committee.
Chief among her accomplishments was the systematic growth of the 49ers program. That growth culminated with the unveiling of the Charlotte 49ers football program in 2013 -- a start-up program that played two years as an independent before moving to the FBS Conference USA in 2015. In 2012, the football fieldhouse was named in her honor: Judy W. Rose Football Center.
In addition to being a successful fundraiser, Rose was instrumental in attracting national sporting events to Charlotte such as the 1994 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 1996 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four, the 1999 and 2000 NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cups, as well as a variety of NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament rounds.
Her many honors include being named "Who's Who in the South" and the 1996 Woman of the Year in Charlotte. She also received the 1995 Winthrop Professional Alumni Award and the 1999 Pegasus Award from the Charlotte Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, to highlight just a few. She was inducted into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
For more information about the May 23 ceremony, check out the S.C. Athletic Hall of Fame’s website.
