The First African American Woman Athletic Director at a Power 5 Conference University

The University of Virginia has named Carla Williams as director of athletics. She is the first African American woman to be named an athletics director at a Power 5 conference that make up the nation’s leading football programs. She will be one of only five women to serve as athletics director at a Power 5 school.

For the past 13 years, Williams has been an athletics administrator at the University of Georgia. Most recently, she was deputy director of athletics. Earlier, in her career, she was on the athletic department staff at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Williams was a four-year varsity letter winner in basketball at the University of Georgia. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master of public administration degree from the University of Georgia. She later was an assistant women’s basketball coach at the university.

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1 COMMENT

  1. To God be ALL the glory, Ms. Williams! Thank you for persevering through so many obstacles and challenges as well as your determination to be who and where you are today. I believe this will serve as a wonderful example, not only among women but African American women that we can do any and EVERYTHING that we put our mind to. I pray that God will bless you in all of your endeavors!

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