Judith Sweet

Judith M. Sweet (born 1948) is an American sports executive. In the 1980s and 1990s, she was the first woman to be elected secretary-treasurer and president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. She was also the first female athletic director to run both the men's and women's programs at the University of California, San Diego. In 2006, ESPN listed her among the top 100 most influential student-athletes.

Early life and education Sweet was the youngest daughter born to parents Sam and Ann Sweet in Milwaukee with two older brothers. She credits her brothers for encouraging her to participate in sports during a time pre-Title IX. Sweet played sports throughout high school, but was unable to participate in school sports as there were no women's teams, and was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Marshall High School.

Upon graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Sweet became a physical education teacher at Tulane University before enrolling at University of Arizona for her master's degree while continuing to teach. After receiving her second degree, she moved to San Diego unemployed, on the recommendation of a student, and accepted a teaching position at Kearny High School. At the time of her takeover, the men's basketball team had a $10,000 budget while the women's team has a $1,000 budget and played in a local community college league. Between 1975 and 2000, Sweet also oversaw UCSD winning 27 NCAA Division III National Championships. In 1981, Sweet was nominated to serve on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) communications committee which eventually led to her sitting on over 20 committees through the 1980s and mid-1990s. In this role, she helped negotiate the TV rights contract for the Men's Final Four Basketball Championship. Upon receiving the news of her promotion, a journalist from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called it "pure tokenism" and likened it to "having a debutante as head of the National Mule Skinners Assn."

Following the end of her term as president, Sweet continued to serve as athletic director at UCSD until 2001 when she became the NCAA's senior vice president for championships and education services. In April, ESPN listed her among the top 100 most influential student-athletes. In 2020, Sweet received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the San Diego Sports Association.