The Univ. of Virginia yesterday introduced new AD Carla Williams, and she "appeared ready for center stage," speaking with "eloquence" as she read prepared remarks and answered questions for the first time, according to David Teel of the Hampton Roads DAILY PRESS. Williams was "sharp, moving, funny and gracious." Knowledge "gleaned from three decades in college sports -- as student-athlete, coach and administrator -- was evident throughout." Retiring UVA AD Craig Littlepage said, "She is further ahead than I was when I took over as an athletics director in 2001." Williams was "among the few women nationally entrusted to supervise football." Georgia AD Greg McGarity, who worked with Williams at UGA, said, "I felt that Carla’s skillset was ideal for managing, for being the supervisor, or the facilitator as we call it, for football because she had done that so successfully in other sports. She proved that she [is] totally capable of handling situations that arise. ... She was very adept at understanding what coaches go through, what they experience, how hard it is to recruit and the time it takes away from your family. (She’s someone) that gets it and can communicate and be brutally honest with people." Teel writes Williams is a "pioneer," as she is the "first black female to lead a Power Five athletic department, and she appreciates the 'historic nature' of her hiring." Williams: "I have served as a role model throughout my career as a student-athlete, as a coach and as an administrator" (Hampton Roads DAILY PRESS, 10/24). In Richmond, Mike Barber notes Williams has "not yet set a start date to assume her new responsibilities." A search committee, aided by Korn Ferry, "secretly interviewed six candidates, including Williams," in N.Y. for the position (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 10/24).
