San José State’s Lawrence Fan and New Mexico’s Janice Ruggiero have been named co-recipients of the Dr. Albert C. Yates Distinguished Service Award, as announced by the Mountain West on Thursday afternoon.
Named in honor of the former CSU president, the award is bestowed upon an individual who has served, supported and promoted the goals and ideals of the Mountain West or a member institution; an individual who, through personal effort and dedication, has enhanced the ability of the Conference and/or its member institutions to provide a positive experience for the student-athletes enrolled at any member institution.
During the Conference’s 23-year history, only 14 individuals have earned the distinction. Fan is the first honoree from SJSU, while Ruggiero becomes the fourth UNM honoree, joining Breda Bova (2013-14), Rudy Davalos (2005-06) and Linda Estes (1999-2000).
Fan worked in the San José State athletics department for over 42 years, publicizing the accomplishments of the Spartan student-athletes before his death in February 2022.
During his career, Fan worked as the primary communication contact for SJSU football, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s water polo and men’s and women’s golf. This past football season, Fan reached a major milestone having worked his 500th-consecutive Spartan football game.
Fan served on several committees throughout his career including, the San José State Sports Hall of Fame, College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Job Seekers and the National Football Foundation Northern California chapter.
In 2012, Fan was elected to the CoSIDA Hall of Fame. Additionally, he received four other honors from CoSIDA: 25-Year Award (2005), Arch Ward Award (2012), Mary Jo Haverback Trailblazer Award (2013) and President's Award (2017).
Prior to retiring in January 2022, Ruggiero spent 32 years as an administrator at New Mexico, and since 2000 she served as the Lobos’ Senior Woman Administrator.
During her career, Ruggiero worked on several NCAA committees benefiting both New Mexico and the Mountain West. She was a member of the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee (2002-04), Legislative Council (2008-2014), Women’s Basketball Rules Committee (2011-2014) and Women’s Basketball Oversite Committee (2015 -2018). In 2015, Ruggiero was named one of the top 10 Senior Woman Administrators by College AD.
Ruggiero graduated from UNM in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and general management. She completed her master’s degree in sports administration in 1997. Ruggiero has two sons: Leonard Jordan (LJ) and Alex.
Fan and Ruggiero are the first Dr. Albert C. Yates Distinguished Award winners since 2017-18 (Colorado State’s Dr. Jim Francis).
Source: https://themw.com/news/2022/6/29/general-sjsus-fan-unms-ruggiero-honored-with-dr-albert-c-yates-distinguished-service-award.aspx
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