How ambitious UIC athletic director Andrea Williams is fueled by immense experience

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Andrea Williams, UIC Athletic Director. (Photo courtesy UIC Communications)

CHICAGO - Andrea Williams is a generous soul.

Sitting in the basketball practice gym at the University of Illinois-Chicago, she offered a welcome to all who would consider moving to the city of Chicago.

This is because she's moved to Chicago three times now. The first two times were for opportunities at the Big Ten Conference, where she served as an assistant and associate commissioner on two separate stints.

Now, as UIC's new director of athletics, Williams returns to a city she loves in a position to create whatever she envisions at a Division I university in an era of college athletics when NIL and different legislation give plenty of institutions a blank canvas to create on.

"San Antonio is my home, it is my heart. I love it," Williams said in a half-hour interview with FOX 32. "But there is no place like Chicago."

There's a lot to learn about the city of Chicago, especially its sports scene. Williams isn't beguiled by this or shies away from it.

This is because Williams' ambitions are fueled by her experiences. It goes beyond the Big Ten Conference.

Personally, Williams takes pride in her familial history. She's a third generation college graduate. Her grandmother worked in the cafeteria while she attended Tuskeegee University and served George Washington Carver. She, her brother and sister all earned NCAA athletic scholarships.

Professionally, she's built enough to be proud of herself. Williams was previously the Utah Jazz's chief experiences officer, the College Football Playoff's chief operating officer, the Big Sky Conference's commissioner and the women's basketball championships director with the NCAA.

There are so many lives lived and learned experiences that Williams now brings to UIC. Where does she start? With what's in place, and those is the coaches, student athletes and administrators she met with in her first week on the job.

"The one thing that stands out to me is heart and compassion and care," Williams said. "It's for all the things, but it really does start with our student-athlete experience. And for me, you can build on that."

Building on that is where the fun begins.

It must be said that UIC doesn't have the kind of resources that much larger schools like Illinois Champaign-Urbana and Northwestern do. But, what Williams has seen at UIC does remind her of her days as the Big Sky's commissioner, operating out of Farmington, Utah.

Those days, Williams was active on social media. In some instances, she would get boo'd for handing out a trophy to a team playing on the road. Those fans that would boo still extended invitations to Williams to join their tailgates or to break bread in different capacities.

That closeness and the student-athletes' experience mirrors the culture at UIC. Those experiences weren't available while working for the NCAA, where she oversaw hundreds of programs, or the Big Ten and CFP, where she was just a little removed from the fan experience.

"It reminds me a lot of what I'm experiencing here at UIC to where they know who you are and it's an opportunity to engage with them," Williams said. "Whether it was at the Big Ten or the NCAA, or College Football Playoff, you just didn't get that sense."

Feeling at home allows her to put her other experiences to use.

At the Big Ten, Williams learned the humility of working with massive institutions and the fiscal responsibility that came with it. Working under then-Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney also gave her a glimpse into how to make difficult decisions that challenge her morals and beliefs.

The NCAA offered its different challenges, but gave Williams a glimpse into how far she could push herself. With so many schools and universities to work with in the NCAA championships, she realized how much more she could give.

Those experiences pale in comparison to how different of a world the Utah Jazz was.

Athletes were traded, millions of dollars flew consistently and ideas were set in motion quickly. There wasn't an extended process to discuss ideas like there was in the world of college athletics.

However, in the modern day of college athletics with Name, Image and Likeness deals aplenty, it helps to have an understanding of how quickly money can change a program or a team.

Armed with all these experiences, Williams is rightfully confident she can accomplish the goals she'll set at UIC.

Whatever those goals may be – short-term, long-term, present day and in the future – what gives Williams even more confidence is the connection in place from her athletics staff to the leadership at the head of university in the Chancellor's office.

"The athletic director's seat is ensuring we have a wonderful staff that understands what the mission is and what the expectations are, setting those goals, and let's get everybody together and get us moving forward in one direction," Williams said. "That tells me that there's nothing but opportunity here. And, a really good place for us to go is up. I know that we're all aligned in that together."

University of Illinois at Chicago NCAA Sports