College Football’s black excellence: The first Power 5 Athletic Directors

Carla Williams was the first black woman hired as Athletic Director.

College athletics is a white male-dominated field. Minority and female representation has been equally difficult to attain. That becomes even more difficult when it is a black woman. This is why Virginia athletic director Carla Williams is so important to the narrative. Hired by UVA in 2017, Williams became the first African-American woman to be hired as Athletic Director of a Power Five program.

One of the things that Williams brings to the table is experience being a student-athlete. Williams played basketball for the University of Georgia from 1987-1989. After playing, Williams was an assistant coach at UGA before moving into administration in 1996. After leaving Athens in 1997, Williams would serve in various administrative capacities at Florida State, Vanderbilt, and Georgia.

One of the most notable positives from Williams’ hiring is the uptick in major donations by women. Currently, Williams is overseeing the 180 million dollar Master Plan. Announced in 2018, the plan includes a new football operations center, a new Olympic Sports building, and practice fields.

The work Williams has done in her short time in Charlottesville has been transformational. The former Lady Bulldog has done a masterful job of taking advantage of the opportunity she was given.