(UW Athletics release)
LARAMIE, Wyo. – China Jude, the Assistant Vice President and Athletics Director at Queens College, N.Y., has been named Senior Associate Athletics Director for Administration/Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) at the University of Wyoming. Her hiring was announced by UW Athletics Director Tom Burman on Monday. Jude will begin her new position at Wyoming on Feb. 1, 2018.
Jude served as Assistant Vice President and Athletics Director at Queens College for over six years, assuming those duties in August 2011.
In 2015, Jude was named the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) Division II Administrator of the Year. She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
“We feel extremely fortunate to be adding China Jude to our administrative staff at the University of Wyoming,” said Burman. “To have an individual who has experience as both an athletics director and a head coach provides a valuable resource for our student-athletes, coaches and administrative staff. China has been involved in all aspects of college athletic administration, from enhancing student-athlete services, to hiring coaches, to fundraising, to managing budgets. Her wealth of experience will make our athletic department better.”
“I am very excited for this opportunity, and I appreciate Tom (Burman) and Matt (Whisenant, Wyoming Deputy Athletics Director) believing in me to serve in this very important role,” said Jude. “I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and provide a great support system for the students, staff and coaches in the department. I believe in the university and department leadership and look forward to growing with my new family. Go Pokes!”
Jude will be involved in supervision of sports, will provide leadership in the areas of student-athlete and staff development and will take a primary leadership role in the management of gender equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives. As the Senior Woman Administrator, she will be the athletics department representative on a variety of university and Mountain West Conference committees.
Queens College sponsors 19 sports and is the fourth largest college in the nation at the NCAA Division II level. During her time as athletics director, Queens College won seven East Coast Conference Championships and six NCAA Regional Championships. Queens College teams earned 12 NCAA postseason berths. A total of 13 Queens College head coaches earned Conference Coach of the Year honors and two were named Regional Coaches of the Year. Over 200 student-athletes earned All-Conference, All-Region and All-America honors.
During her time at Queens College, her student-athletes achieved a four-year graduation average of 75 percent and a 91 percent retention rate, while earning a combined 3.00 grade-point average every semester.
In the area of fundraising and revenue generation, Jude increased alumni giving by 60 percent the last two fiscal years, created the first two athletic naming rights opportunities in school history (one, a basketball court naming campaign and the other a baseball facility naming opportunity) and increased basketball ticket sales by 30 percent in the 2016-17 season.
She successfully managed an athletics department budget that equaled approximately $31.5 million over a five-year period, and generated a surplus every fiscal year. Under her direction, the athletics department eliminated an inherited $1.4 million deficit. In fiscal year 2017, her Queens College Athletics Department generated a $542,000 surplus, which contributed to the elimination of that deficit.
Prior to her time as Athletics Director at Queens College, Jude was the Athletics Director and Department Chairperson at NCAA Division II member Cheyney University of Pennsylvania from October 2007 to July 2011. She also brings experience as a former head volleyball coach at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and the University of the District of Columbia. Jude was a collegiate volleyball player herself at Alabama State University.
A native of Waukegan, Ill., Jude completed her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Alabama State in 1994. She earned a master’s degree in sports administration and marketing from the United States Sports Academy in 1996. Jude completed her doctor of education (Ed.D.) in athletic administration from Northcentral University in 2017.
Jude’s family has a rich history of serving in the United States military. Her son, Tommy Jr., served seven years in the U.S. Army before recently being honorably discharged, and her father was a Navy veteran. Jude, herself, served in the U.S. Naval Reserves, earning an honorable discharge. Her mother worked in corporate positions throughout her career.
