UIC names Andrea Williams director of intercollegiate athletics

The University of Illinois Chicago has selected Andrea Williams as director of intercollegiate athletics, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Williams is a proven leader in athletic administration with 25 years of experience in collegiate and professional sports. She was the first African American woman to be appointed an NCAA Division I conference commissioner in 2016, and she currently serves as chief experience officer for the Utah Jazz. She will officially join UIC as director of intercollegiate athletics designate on Nov. 16.  

A news conference to introduce Williams to the UIC community and the Missouri Valley Conference will take place Monday, Nov. 4, 11:30 a.m., UIC Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St.

“Andrea Williams brings a wealth of experience across collegiate and professional sports and a proven track record of success in managing complex athletic programs, and expanding partnerships with other institutions, conferences and organizations,” said Marie Lynn Miranda, chancellor of UIC. “Her strategic vision for our athletic programs will elevate UIC’s national profile for our Division I teams while remaining deeply committed to the academic success and personal growth of our student-athletes.”

Williams joins the Flames after three years at the Utah Jazz, where she oversees eight business verticals 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 with the Utah Jazz, Williams was the chief operating officer at the College Football Playoff 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 spent 10 years as 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 of UIC. She is a strong champion for diversity and inclusion and is passionate about accelerating the social mobility of UIC’s student-athletes – and students broadly.

“I am thrilled about joining the Flames family and working to further elevate UIC’s nationally competitive athletic programs,” Williams said. “It is an honor to be selected as UIC’s next director of athletics, and I am grateful to Chancellor Miranda and the search committee for extending this incredible opportunity. UIC offers outstanding opportunities for student-athletes to achieve success across its many athletic programs while also being supported academically and personally at one of the nation’s top public research universities. UIC is positioned to excel athletically at the conference and NCAA levels, and I am excited to join the Flames’ tremendous athletes, coaches and staff on that mission.”

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.