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Minding My Business With NCAA Senior VP/Communications Bob Williams

Williams' favorite book is "Boys In The Boat,"
which emphasizes the importance of teamwork
Name: Bob Williams

Position: NCAA Senior VP/Communications

Age: 57

Where I’m from: Rome, N.Y.

Where I call home: Indianapolis

Focusing on right now: D-I governance reform

Best advice: I spent most of my career in the military on active duty, working in communications. I was taught early in my military career was that you always have to take a step back from a lot of the debate and look at things through the lens of those who might not be as familiar with your mission and your organization as you are, or those who are making the decisions. I always try to do that in my job here, which primarily is to provide advice and counsel to NCAA leadership on issues.

A must for a new hire: A diversity of experience. We have some people who have worked in college sports most of their career. We have people working here from government, corporate America, and agencies, both large and small. We try to build our staff so that we have a lot of different points of view and a lot of different experiences at the table, who can help us solve those problems.

Exec I admire most: I worked for a commander named Brigadier General SKIP HALL. He was the type of guy that you wanted to follow. I learned a lot about how to lead people from him because he wasn’t the cigar-chomping disciplinarian that most people paint as a general officer or a commander. He dealt with people on a very personal level, and he motivated you to do a good job. 

Best book I’ve read this year: "Boys In The Boat," by DANIEL BROWN. It drove home the importance of teamwork and overcoming adversity. It’s a book about the 1932-1936 rowing team at the University of Washington. It talks about how they started off as they formed up as this ragtag group of guys and at the end of a couple of years, they literally were the core of the Olympic rowing team for the 1936 Olympics. It’s beautifully written.

First thing in the morning: I get a compilation of clips related to the NCAA first thing in my mailbox. I check it before I even get dressed. 

Talking tech: When I first got into the business, we paid attention to the news cycle. You could gauge how much time you had to sort out the facts, and either respond or develop a strategy. Now, there is no news cycle, it’s 24/7. But it's also made the task of communicating information about your organization easier. With our platforms that we control, we are also media. We don’t have to wait on the media to pick up our story or cover our issue.

Must have music: If someone were to look at my playlist, they probably would be confused because it has literally everything from FRANK SINATRA to rap. I don’t fit into one genre. I like the old classics. One of my favorite artists, B.B. KING, just passed away. 

Food for thought: My favorite food would have to be pizza. I like to cook and I like to eat, particularly anything Italian. 

How I unwind: I have a road bike, I play golf, and I do recreational target shooting. I guess it’s a holdover from my military days. I recently bought a dog, so he takes up a lot of my time, too. He’s a Golden Doodle, and he’s quite large. He’s five months old, and already over 50 pounds.

Day in the life: The structure of the NCAA has changed with the D-I council, which is made up of primarily ADs and commissioners and others. The D-I Board of Directors has a slightly different role now. Most of the day-to-day issues are going to the council for them to study the issues and really determine the ramifications and the pros and cons of the issues, and then they make a recommendation to the D-I Board. We’re still working through that. That’s in its infancy. The council has been formed for just a little over 100 days now, so we’re focusing a lot on that new structure and how the council and the board works.

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