Harvard, 2004
• 2004 Academic All-America® First Team
Angela Ruggiero was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame on June 15, 2015 in Orlando, Fla.
Angela Ruggiero shined brightly on both the national and international stages as a standout defenseman for Harvard University and as a four-time Olympic medalist for Team USA. Ruggiero helped lead the USA to the inaugural Olympic gold medal in 1998 and was a member of three other medal-winning squads that captured silver in 2002 and 2010 as well as bronze in 2006.
Ruggiero earned first team Verizon Academic All-America® at-large accolades during her senior season for the Crimson, the same year that she received the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Trophy as the nation’s top female hockey player. A three-time team MVP for Harvard, she was a four-time All-America selection and was named as a recipient of the NCAA’s distinguished Top VIII Award for her success in competition, in the classroom and in the community.
Ruggiero received international recognition in 2003 after being named as the United States Olympic Committee Player of the Year and voted as the best female player in the world by The Hockey News. Angela garnered top defenseman honors at both the 2002 (Salt Lake City) and 2006 (Turin, Italy) Olympic Games and was also named as the top defenseman on four occasions (2001, 2004, 2005 and 2008) at the World Championships. She was the first woman non-goalie to play professional men’s hockey in North America, playing for the Tulsa Oilers alongside her brother, Bill, while also earning a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame as the first brother-sister duo to play pro hockey together.
In 2010, Ruggiero was elected to an eight-year term on the International Olympic Committee. She also serves on the IOC’s Athlete’s Commission, Entourage Commission and 2018 Evaluation Commission. A member of the Board of Directors of both the United States Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency, Ruggiero also has been a trustee of the Women’s Sports Foundation since 2008.