Sara Judd named athletic director for ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥
Sara Lillevand Judd
- May 27, 2013
Sara Lillevand Judd has been appointed as the next director of athletics for ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥, East Bay, effective June 1.
Judd, a member of the Pioneer Athletic Department for 16 years, including her years as head women's basketball coach and senior associate athletics director for compliance as well as senior women's administrator, succeeds Debby De Angelis, who recently announced her retirement after 12 years as CSUEB's director of athletics.
After the 2007-08 season, Judd stepped down from coaching in order to join the administrative staff. For the next three years she helped guide CSUEB athletics through the complex process of regaining membership in NCAA Division II and joining the California Collegiate Athletic Association. She was instrumental in aiding CSUEB's move from a non-scholarship program to one that exceeds the minimum of $250,000 in athletic financial aid, while coming into compliance with NCAA Division II rules for scheduling, recruiting, scholarships and eligibility.
“I am so excited for Sara to be the director of athletics and to watch her use her incredible vision to take East Bay to the next level,” said De Angelis. “She has been the best possible assistant, orchestrating our move to Division II while always focusing on what's best for student-athlete development. Her strong leadership, values, and ethics will ensure that East Bay continues to be a place for both academic and athletic excellence.”
In 11 seasons at the helm of Pioneer women's basketball, Judd compiled a record of 172-122. She has the most victories and best winning percentage (.585) of any ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ women's basketball coach. Her teams won 15 or more games in nine of 11 seasons under Judd and twice won 21 games (21-8 in 2002-03 and 21-6 in 2003-04). The Pioneers qualified for postseason play in all but her first season as coach, and she was named Coach of the Year for the Cal Pac Conference in 2000-01.
Before arriving at ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥, Judd served as an assistant coach for UC Davis during the 1996-97 season, a year which saw the Aggies finish 29-3 and record their first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance. She also served as assistant coach at Wellesley College in Massachusetts from 1991-1995.
Judd has been actively involved in local youth sports as a volunteer coach. She has coached 26 different basketball, soccer, and baseball teams in her local community over the past six years. Judd served on the board of directors for Piedmont Soccer Club (PSC) from 2006 to 2009, and in the fall she was named PSC Coach of the Year for the 2012 season.
She had a distinguished collegiate playing career as well, beginning with one season at Stanford, where she received Tara VanDerveer's 1986-87 Coach's Award. She then transferred to UC Davis, where she was a three-year team captain. During her three seasons in Davis the Aggies won 66 games against just 19 losses and went 36-6 in NCAC conference play. Twenty-two years after graduation, Judd still holds the UC Davis records for assists in a game (13), assists in a season (159), season average (5.1), and career average (4.7).
CSUEB's new athletic director was a Rhodes Scholar candidate and graduated from UC Davis in 1991 with honors. She then received her master's degree in physical therapy from Boston University in 1995.
A Bay Area native, Judd was a four-year prep star (soccer, basketball, cross country, and softball) from 1982-86 at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland. She was named California Interscholastic Federation Scholar-Athlete of the Year during her senior campaign and was inducted into Bishop O'Dowd's Hall of Fame in February of 2000.