2025 Hall of Fame Inductee: Dr. Judith Davidson

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Over the next few weeks, USA Field Hockey will be celebrating and honoring the 2025 Hall of Fame inductees. This class honors five individuals who have played a significant role in the development and support of the sport in the United States during their long careers and are all being inducted as Contributors.

Dr. Judith Davidson, who, after elevating the University of Iowa into a national powerhouse in field hockey, became the first female in the nation to be named an Athletic Director of a NCAA Division I program, is being inducted as a Contributor. Dr. Davidson served as president of USA Field Hockey from 1984 to 1992 and held various roles for the then-named U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), International Hockey Federation (FIH), and Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) during her illustrious career.

A prolific author, Dr. Davidson earned her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts in 1983 and served as the head coach there for two seasons before moving to Iowa. She coached the Hawkeyes to a second-place finish in the 1984 tournament before winning a national championship in 1986. A three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, the Hawkeyes won seven Big Ten regular season titles in her ten years. Dr. Davidson also coached seven women who went on to represent the USA in the Olympic Games, cementing her legacy in Iowa City. The first female coach to be named to the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame, Dr. Davidson went on to have further impact by breaking down barriers through her appointment as the Director of Athletics at both Central Connecticut State University and Sacramento State University from 1988 to 2000.

Now in her 25th year with Merrill Lynch as a Wealth Management Advisor, Dr. Davidson has continued to give back to the community by serving on a number of boards, including the New Britain Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, Tierra Del Oro Girl Scouts of America, California Musical Theater Foundation, and El Dorado County Court Appointed Special Advocates.

USA Field Hockey will formally honor these legends of the game at an event in the Philadelphia area in December.