Troy Hall of Fame Athletics Director Johnny Williams passes away at 68

Troy University and Troy Athletics lost a valuable member of its family on Tuesday, Feb. 4, with the passing of Troy University Sports Hall of Fame member and former Athletics Director Johnny Williams following a battle with leukemia. He was 68 years old.

“Johnny Williams was the most positive person I have ever met, and his ‘can-do’ attitude was contagious,” Troy Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins Jr., said. “I met Johnny in 1989; he was the defensive coordinator for our football team. In 1994, when I asked him to serve as athletics director, it was an unprecedented move, for seldom do coaches rise from a coordinator slot to the head of a department. But Johnny was different.

“He assumed responsibility during a critical period in TROY’s athletic program. He helped guide us from Division II to the highest level of NCAA football. He served as Athletic Director from 1994 until 2004. Throughout that period, we won 28 conference championships and became a member of the Sun Belt Conference. Johnny Williams helped establish the foundation we enjoy today.

“In 2016, we inducted him into the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame, and following his retirement, he led the Central Alabama Sports Commission, and it was his leadership that brought college bowls to the River Region.

“We express our condolences to his wife, Robin, and to his entire family. All remain very special to Troy University.”

Williams was one of the instrumental leaders in Troy’s move from NCAA Division II to Division I. He was named Troy’s Athletics Director in the spring of 1994 following a seven-year stint as Troy’s defensive coordinator. In addition to his role on the football staff, Williams also assisted in the Athletic Department’s business office and with football promotions and served as the football recruiting coordinator.

“Johnny Williams was a pioneer in collegiate athletics and was instrumental in so many positive moments for not only Troy Athletics but the entire collegiate sports landscape,” Troy Athletics Director Brent Jones said. “I had the honor of serving with him on the Board of Directors for the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl in Montgomery, which has been a tremendous partner to the Sun Belt, our state and the River Region. Johnny was a giant among men, and he will be missed immensely by everyone who knew him.”

Visitation will take place on Monday, Feb. 10, at Cross Pointe Church in Tuscaloosa, Ala., from 10 a.m. until noon, with the funeral service to follow.

Prior to his appointment as Athletics Director, Williams was an original member of the Athletic Challenge Fund Steering Committee, the precursor to the committee that raised $1 million in less than two years to initiate Troy’s move to Division I. During his tenure as Athletics Director, the Troy football team advanced to the FCS (I-AA) Playoffs six times in seven years and began playing at the FBS (I-A) level in 2001. He helped pave the way for more than $24 million paid into the Athletics Facility Campaign, which led to upgrades of Veterans Memorial Stadium, Tine Davis Fieldhouse and Riddle-Pace Field, in addition to the construction of new soccer and track & field complex plus a new softball complex. He was a member of the 1987 football staff that was named the American Football Coaches Association Coaching Staff of the Year following Troy’s Division II National Championship run.

Following his 10-year run as Troy’s Athletics Director, Williams spent three years as the Senior Associate Athletic Director at Alabama. He then founded Creative Marketing Management in 2007, which specializes in all areas of sports business. Williams turned his attention back to football in 2013 when he served as the executive director of the Raycom College Football All-Star Classic. Williams helped turn that all-star game into the Camellia Bowl (now the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl) the following year and served as the game’s executive director until his passing.

Williams received the Gen. Robert Neyland Athletics Director Award from the All-American Football Foundation in 2002, and in 2016, was inducted into the Troy Sports Hall of Fame.