UIC names Andrea Williams director of intercollegiate athletics

Dear campus community,

UIC has witnessed incredible momentum across its athletics programs while prioritizing student success and personal growth of our student-athletes. Our next director of intercollegiate athletics will have a unique opportunity to build on that momentum while also fostering an environment that elevates academic excellence and social mobility for our wonderful students. To that end, I am pleased to announce the selection of Andrea Williams as UIC’s next director of intercollegiate athletics, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. She will officially join UIC as director of intercollegiate athletics designate on Nov. 16.

Williams is a proven leader in athletic administration with 25 years of experience in collegiate and professional sports. Notably, in 2016, she became the first African American woman to serve as an NCAA Division I conference commissioner. Williams has held leadership positions in the NCAA and the College Football Playoff. Williams has an outstanding track record of success in managing complex athletic programs and expanding partnerships with other institutions, conferences, and organizations.

Currently, Williams serves as the chief experience officer at the Utah Jazz based in Salt Lake City, where she oversees eight business entities and a team of over 160 employees. Her responsibilities include managing the Delta Center, a major venue generating over $25 million annually that hosts the Utah Jazz, Utah Hockey Club, and concerts and events. Prior to her role at the Utah Jazz, Williams was the chief operating officer at College Football Playoffs based in Dallas. In that role, she oversaw the college football national championship game weekend and supervised the departments of game and team operations, stadium logistics, public events, security, accreditation, volunteers, and community service.

Williams also served as commissioner of the Big Sky Conference in Ogden, Utah, and as an associate commissioner for the Big Ten Conference in Rosemont, Illinois. Additionally, during her tenure with the NCAA in Indianapolis, Indiana, she directed the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

Beyond her extensive professional experience and business acumen across athletic programs and professional sports, Williams embodies the values that make UIC such a special place. She is a strong champion for diversity and inclusion and is passionate about accelerating the social mobility of UIC’s student-athletes.

Her dedication to service is evident through her work on various boards, including the Ohio University Sports Administration Alumni Advisory Board, the Board of Directors for the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation, and the NCAA Board of Governors’ Sexual Assault Prevention Commission.

Williams holds an undergraduate degree in speech communications from Texas A&M, where she was also a student-athlete and worked in the university’s Sports Information Office. She earned her master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University.

Andrea is a proud fur mom to Rain, her 130-pound, deaf, 10-year-old rescue Great Dane. Her parents, Nancy and retired USAF Col. Henry Williams, live in San Antonio, Texas. Andrea has two siblings who were also college athletes: her brother, Henry Williams Jr., played football at the University of Richmond, and her sister, retired USAF Col. Amanda Williams, holds the all-time scoring record in women’s basketball at the Air Force Academy. One of Andrea’s nieces, Brianna Gladney, manages basketball operations for the American Conference, while her nephew, Henry, and another niece, Rachel, play water polo for the Naval Academy and San Jose State, respectively.

I extend my gratitude to all members of the search committee for their diligence throughout this national search:

• Mark Giles (Search Committee Chair), Chair and Professor of Educational Policy Studies
• Caryn Schultz Korman, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni and Donor Engagement
• Luke Malone, UIC student representative
• Colleen Kehoe, Director, Budget Model, Tuition and Data Analytics
• Michael Ginsburg, Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Student Affairs
• Karrie Lynn Hamstra-Wright, Clinical Professor, Kinesiology and Nutrition
• Curtis Granderson, UIC alumnus, former student-athlete, retired MLB player
• Tonya McGowan, UIC alumna, former student-athlete, retired Senior Associate Athletic Director
• Somnath Das, Professor and Coordinator of Doctoral Program, Department of Accounting
• Christopher Sayre, University Registrar
• Ashleen Bracey, Women’s Basketball Head Coach
• Tiffany Gonzales, Search Committee Coordinator

Please join me in welcoming Andrea Williams to the UIC Flames family! The campus community is invited to meet Andrea at a press conference welcoming her on Monday, Nov. 4, at 11:30 a.m. in UIC Student Center East.

Go Flames!

Marie Lynn Miranda, PhD
Chancellor