Angela Ruggiero

Ice Hockey

An Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion, Angela Ruggiero is one of the most dominant defensemen on the ice. While playing on the U.S. national team, Ruggiero earned a gold medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, a silver medal at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City and another at the 2010 in Vancouver and a bronze medal at the 2006 Games in Torino.

Ruggiero made hockey history in January 2005 when she became the first woman to play a non-goalie position during a men's professional hockey match in North America, competing for the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. In that same year, Ruggiero helped her team bring home its first gold medal from the world championships, as she scored the deciding goal in a shootout, earning her Top Defenseman honors.

Career Highlights

• Four-time Olympic medalist
• Four-time World Champion
• Seven-time Four Nations Cup medalist
• All-Time Leader in Games Played for Team USA, male or female
• 2004 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award recipient
• Member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
• Elected to the International Olympic Committee, by her peers, following the 2012 Winter Games in Vancouver
• Harvard/NCAA - First Team Academic- All American
• Women’s Sports Foundation Athlete Advisory Panel member
• Founder of the Angela Ruggiero All-American Girls Hockey School
  

Collegiate Career

She was a member of Harvard's 1999 championship winning team. In the spring of 2004, Ruggiero completed her senior season at Harvard University, captaining her team to a National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) runner-up trophy for the second year in a row. She also finished third on the team and eighth in the nation in scoring with 55 points. Ruggiero achieved these numbers despite missing the first four games of the NCAA season to participate in the United States' gold-medal effort at the 2003 Four Nations Cup in Skovde, Sweden.

In addition, then-24-year-old Ruggiero was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2004 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships, Beanpot MVP and ECAC and Ivy League Player of the Year. She also earned her fourth first-team All-America selection. She is one of only two players in history to earn the honor four times.

Awards

Ruggiero was named the 2004 winner of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the most outstanding player in women's collegiate hockey. She was also ranked as the No. 1 women's hockey player in the world by The Hockey News. The Michigan resident received the International Ice Hockey Federation Directorate Award as the Best Defenseman as she led Team USA to a silver medal at the Four Nation's Cup and Women's World Championships in 2004.

In 2003, she was named United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Hockey Player of the Year, was ranked Top Defenseman in the World (Globe and Mail) and was voted Best Female Hockey Player in the World by The Hockey News. Ruggiero and her brother, Bill, earned a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame as the first brother-sister duo to play pro hockey together.

International & Educational Work

In July of 2004, Ruggiero took her talents off-ice and traveled to Uganda, where she served as an athlete ambassador for Right to Play, an international human rights organization that aims to develop health and recreation programs for urban slums and refugee camps in Africa. She is the director for Project Hope in association with the New York Islanders. Founder and head instructor of the All American Girls Hockey School. Ruggiero is featured in the Women's Sports Foundation educational program GoGirlGo! and was a competitor on Donald Trump's "The Apprentice."

Women’s Sports Foundation Announces President-Elect and Four New Trustees

FEBRUARY 15, 2012: The Women’s Sports Foundation announced the appointment of a new President-Elect and four new members to the Board of Trustees. Olympic gold medalist Angela Ruggiero, Ice Hockey, has assumed the role of president-elect and will continue serving on the Board of Trustees to provide leadership and visibility for the organization’s mission. Read the Press Release

Our Athletes: Many Sports, One Goal Video

The Women’s Sports Foundation is proud to be teammates with hundreds of elite athletes in more than 100 sports. View Video Here

The Women’s Sports Foundation’s Travel & Training Fund Awards $50,000 to Aspiring Athletes and Olympic Hopefuls

JULY 29, 2011 - Grants to 12 indivduals and two teams provide financial fuel for future champions in London and beyond Read the Press Release

Athlete Advisory Panel

Each year a small a group of athletes' time, energy and perspective helps advance our mission. Who made the list

Athlete Advisory Panel

Small a group of athletes who are the face and voice of the Foundation while promoting the Foundation’s mission. Athlete Advisory Panel