Ruth Hammack Alexander (April 17, 1938–April 20, 2021) was an American activist for women in collegiate sports.

[2] She married in 1961 and moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where she worked at the State Street Methodist Church.

After her first son was born, the family moved to Louisville, Kentucky where she worked at Valley High School and earned her doctorate.

[7] Alexander stated that she earned her job as an assistant professor at the University of Maryland because of her degree in educational psychology.

[8] During the 1973–1974 season, every female team finished within the top of their respective sport in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

She was also recruited to testify in front of the United States Congress about the importance of funding for female sports to help push Title IX.

[12] Title IX was a proposed federal civil rights law that stated no person should be excluded on the basis of sex.

Even before the implementation of Title IX, Alexander served as the coordinator of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women until 1981.