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John Williams began his position as Executive Associate Commissioner – Men’s Basketball & Game Management on July 1, 2021, before being named Vice President - Men's Basketball in September 2022. He has oversight of men’s basketball and game management, working directly with the Conference’s coaches, administrators, and officiating program; along with coordination of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship.
Possessing over 35 years of leadership experience in intercollegiate athletics, Williams joined the Southland Conference staff as deputy commissioner in 2017. He oversaw efforts in NCAA governance and affairs, provided executive oversight of the league’s compliance and academic services, and served as the primary staff liaison to the Advisory Council, the Conference’s operating body of faculty representatives, athletic directors and senior woman administrators, while also having direct oversight of the Conference’s men’s and women’s basketball operations. He has also served on the NCAA Division I Council and on the Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee for the past two years.
In 2014, Williams was named athletics director at the University of the Incarnate Word. He began his coaching and administrative experience as an assistant men’s basketball coach at his alma mater, Ball State University, in 1982. He later became head men’s basketball coach at Earlham College (Ind.), served as an assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin, and held the dual role of athletics director and head basketball coach at the University of Saint Francis (Ind.).
Following a stint as head coach at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Williams began a 12-year stay at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, first as a professional development coordinator followed by a lengthy run as director of championships and alliances. Additionally, he was charged with the NCAA’s diversity and inclusion, professional development, postgraduate and internship programs.
Having earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Ball State, Williams also was a three-time team captain with the men’s basketball team while garnering three All-Mid-American Conference honorable mentions. He was a key part of MAC championship teams in 1980-81 and 1981-82, and his 39-point scoring output against Central Michigan as a junior still stands among the top individual performances at Ball State. Williams was inducted in the Ball State Athletic Hall Fame in 1992.
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