Mercy College Dedicates Student Athlete Center in Honor of First Athletic Director Neil Judge
Mercy College today dedicated the Student Athlete Center on the Dobbs Ferry Campus in honor of Neil Judge, Mercy’s first athletic director who served the College in this role for 34 years until his retirement in 2005. Named the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center as a tribute to Judge’s dedication to student success, the Center encompasses the athletics wing of Victory Hall.
Matt Kilcullen Jr., Mercy College director of athletics, was master of ceremonies during the dedication ceremony, which included remarks from Mercy College leadership and several of Judge’s former colleagues. “We are so thankful for getting everyone together, and Mr. Judge’s family for their presence,” expressed Kilcullen.
Judge is known for laying the foundation for a thriving athletics program and creating an environment of academic accountability and achievement off the field. He was instrumental in securing Mercy’s member in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1973, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1975, and a charter membership in the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989.
Mercy College sports teams were successful under Judge’s leadership, with highlights that included three straight 20-win seasons by the women's basketball team in the early 1980s, five straight winning seasons from the baseball team in the early 1980s, a 1986 state championship by the softball team, the men's soccer team's run to the NCAA regional finals in 1989 and a NCAA Elite Eight appearance by the volleyball team in 2001.
Among his many professional achievements, Judge earned the East Coast Conference Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 and was inducted into the East Coast Conference Hall of Fame in 2018. Mercy College awarded Judge a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 Trustees’ Scholarship Dinner.
“Mercy has experienced a renaissance of our athletics program in the last 10 years, and I attribute it to our leadership now, and to Mr. Judge. We’ve seen a renaissance of what was alive before,” said Mercy College President Tim Hall. “I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Mr. Judge and I can tell you that this is a man who had our students at his heart. He cared that students would be able to flourish after their time at Mercy.”
“What amazed me about Neil was his connection to every individual student athlete. It is cliché when we say that an individual has a relationship with everyone – Neil redirects the cliché because he owned his relationship with every individual,” said William Sullivan, senior associate director of Athletics.
“Neil didn’t do his job to bring attention to himself, he did things because he thought they were the right things to do,” said Rick Wolff, former Mercy College baseball coach, former professional baseball player, author, and 2008 inductee in the Mercy College Athletics Hall of Fame. “Every time I asked Neil for something for the players, he always found a way. No complaints, no push back, no discussion. He just got it done because it was the right thing to do.”
“We are blessed to have worked with him,” said Dr. Darryl Bullock ’73, former Mercy College assistant athletics director, head men’s and women’s track and field coach and head men’s and women’s cross-country coach. “Neil, thank you.”
“Mr. Judge’s enduring legacy is felt throughout Mercy College. Thanks to Mr. Judge’s commitment to the success of Mercy’s student-athletes and the athletic programs, we have all benefited to this day,” said Mercy College student Carly Diolosa ’23.
As said by Megan Judge, Neil Judge’s daughter, to the student athletes in the audience, “You were and always will be family to him.” Judge’s daughter also delivered a message on her father’s behalf:
“It's really simple. It was my absolute pleasure to watch my students grow and play and I am so proud of the people Mercy College helped them become.”
To learn more about Mercy College Athletics, please visit: mercyathletics.com.
To view highlights from the naming of the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center, please click here.
To donate to the Neil Judge Student Athlete Center, please click here.
