Staff Directory
- Title:
- Athletic Director
- Email Address:
- Alma Mater:
- Rice
- Graduation Year:
- 1981
- Phone:
- 936 294-3286
Bobby Williams enters the 2026-27 athletic year as standing as the longest-tenured athletic director in Division I at the FBS level, with this being his 30th overall athletic year at the department helm. Williams has been a cornerstone of Sam Houston State University for 45 years across five decades, serving as an assistant football coach (1982–1991), assistant athletic director (1991–1997) before being named interim athletic director on July 18, 1997. The interim tag was removed on April 29, 1998, officially taking over as full-time AD at that point.
Under his direction, Sam Houston has experienced the most successful era in program history. Williams spearheaded the University's historic reclassification from Division I FCS to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and its entry into Conference USA. His tenure includes two NCAA Division I national championships—women’s bowling in 2014 and football in Spring 2021—alongside a league-record seven Southland Conference Commissioner’s Cups.
Williams has overseen an extensive physical transformation of Bearkat Athletics, guiding multi-million-dollar capital projects across all sports. Major venue milestones feature the completion of the new state-of-the-art press box at Bowers Stadium and extensive renovations to the Mafrige Fieldhouse. These additions expand upon comprehensive venue upgrades across campus, including:
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Bowers Stadium Press Box & Operations: Modern press box facilities, media suites, and infrastructure updates.
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Mafrige Fieldhouse & Sports Performance: Major structural updates supporting student-athlete sports medicine, strength training, and team spaces.
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Woodforest Bank Athletic Center: Opened in 2019, housing the Bearkat Learning Enhancement Center and Bearkat Sports Network broadcast suites.
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Venue Additions & Modernizations: Construction of Don Sanders Stadium (baseball), Bearkat Softball Stadium, the McIver Golf Training Facility, and the Robert & Erin Steele Golf Facility, alongside artificial turf installations and HD video scoreboards across multiple venues.
Williams and his wife, Janet—a professor in the SHSU College of Education and two-time Sam Houston graduate—are deeply rooted in the Huntsville and SHSU communities. Janet's family carries a proud Bearkat legacy through her father, General Thomas Stone (distinguished alumnus and football letterman), her brother Keith (football letterman), and sister Kelly. Bobby and Janet have two daughters, Audrey Kathryn and Alexandra Karolyn, both proud SHSU alumni.
The family's deep personal commitment to the university's academic and athletic missions was further cemented when the Williams and Stone families announced the establishment of a $100,000 endowment during SHSU Giving Day in April 2026. The endowment provides perpetual, ongoing support for a student in the College of Education and a football student-athlete, while serving as a challenge initiative to inspire broader support across campus.
Under Williams' leadership, Bearkat student-athletes consistently maintain department-wide GPAs that exceed the general university student body. Nationally, he has earned the General Robert R. Neyland Outstanding Athletic Director Award and was named the AstroTurf FCS Regional Athletics Director of the Year.
A native Texan, Williams earned his bachelor’s (1981) and master’s degrees (1982) from Rice University, where he was a starter at wide receiver for the Owls. His father, the late Bobby Williams, Sr., was a member of Rice’s 1958 Cotton Bowl team and retired in 2002 after working as an NFL scout for the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. His mother, Carolyn, retired from the Dow Chemical Company.
