| Saint Augustine's University |
George Williams has built a national track & field powerhouse at Saint Augustine’s University and an international reputation as a head coach during his illustrious 43-year coaching career at his alma mater. In addition to being the track and field and cross country head coach, Williams is also the athletic director at Saint Augustine’s University.
Williams has won the most NCAA national titles (39) of any active coach, regardless of division and sport. He has won the third-most titles of any coach in the NCAA regardless the sport. In 2004, Williams was the U.S. Olympic Head Track and Field Coach.
Williams has won the most NCAA track & field championships as a coach, regardless of division, the most NCAA track & field championships at one school as a coach and the most NCAA Division II track & field championships as a coach.
Under Williams’ brilliant guidance, Saint Augustine’s University has won 39 NCAA Division II national track and field championships and 33 national runner-up finishes. The Falcons and Lady Falcons have won a mind-boggling 282 individual track and field titles during the indoor and outdoor seasons combined.
The latest national title victory occurred during the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships in Bradenton, Fla., on May 25-27, 2017. The SAU men trailed by two points heading into the final event, but won the 4x400 relay to capture the title. The Falcons scored 58 points to beat Lincoln University (52 points), Ashland University (50 points) and Tiffin University (50 points).
The victory was so impressive that the Falcons made ESPN’s The Undefeated’s Top 10 HBCU Moments List for 2017. The men’s outdoor track and field championship team was honored at halftime of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament second-round game between the University of North Carolina and Texas A&M University in Charlotte, N.C., in March 2018. A highway sign honoring the 2017 men’s outdoor national champions was approved by the N.C. Department of Transportation in May 2018 and was erected in April 2019.
The legendary coach was highlighted for his vast achievements in the 2018 season. Williams was in the national spotlight when ESPN’s The Undefeated.com wrote a feature story on the iconic coach in May. Williams was also honored in January when he was named one of the 10 most influential sports figures in the Triangle area (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.) by The Raleigh News & Observer daily newspaper.
Williams has been the recipient of more than 150 track & field coach of the year honors, including the NCAA Division II National Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year Award from 2013 to 2017 and the NCAA Division II National Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year Award in 2013 and 2014 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Williams has won numerous CIAA conference coaching honors including the 2019 Men’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field awards. He was named 2014 CIAA Athletic Director of the Year.
Under his leadership, the Falcons have amassed over 150 CIAA track and field and cross country conference championships including the 2019 CIAA men’s indoor and outdoor titles. Additionally, his scholarship student-athletes have a 95 percent graduation rate.
Williams has coached over 40 Olympians, including three gold medalists. Williams coached Saint Augustine’s University graduate Bershawn “Batman” Jackson to a 2005 world title, five U.S. championships and a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Four former Saint Augustine’s University student-athletes including Jackson competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Williams was recognized for his lofty 2016 achievements, which included winning the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field National Title and coaching five Olympians in the Rio Summer Games. He was a special guest on the nationally syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show" and was quoted prominently in an ESPN.com article about participants from historically black colleges and universities in the Rio Olympics. In August 2016, an exhibit honoring Williams was displayed at the City of Raleigh (N.C.) Museum.
Williams was head coach of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team in Athens, Greece, and he also served as assistant coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team in Atlanta, Ga., where each athlete he was responsible for won a gold medal. He was the U.S. head coach at the 1999 World Outdoor Championships in Seville, Spain, the 1993 World Indoor Championships in Toronto, Canada, and the 1992 IAAF World Cup in Havana, Cuba.
After returning from the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, the city of Elizabeth City, N.C., honored Williams in September 2004 with a key to the city. The city of Raleigh, N.C., honored the longtime Saint Augustine’s University coach with a Proclamation, naming November 16, 2004, as George Williams Day for his outstanding contributions in track and field. The Newark YMCA Sports Legends honored Williams in November 2004, and the city of Miami, Fla., honored Coach Williams with a Proclamation naming February 7, 2004, as George Williams Day.
Williams is a member of nine Hall of Fames: the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the Florida Track and Field Hall of Fame, the Saint Augustine’s University Athletic Hall of Fame, the Booker T. Washington High School (Miami, Fla.) Hall of Fame, the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame, the Raleigh (N.C.) Hall of Fame, the Newark (N.J.) YMCA Legends Hall of Fame and the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame.
Williams and his famed track & field program were recognized during a halftime ceremony at an NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament first-round game in Raleigh, N.C. for their success in 2016 and 2014. He was also named the starter of the famed Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon series in Raleigh, N.C. The race, billed as the “World Largest Running Series” was held April 13, 2014. In 2012, Williams was selected 13th among the CIAA 100 Greatest Athletes and Coaches during the year of the conference’s 100th anniversary. On February 16, 2012, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Raleigh (N.C.) Sports Council.
In March 2009, Williams was selected an honoree in the “Living Legends” Orange & Black Scholarship Gala Awards Ceremony by the Booker T. Washington Alumni Association. The Gala honors outstanding alumni of Booker T. Washington Senior High School. On June 20, 2008, Williams received the Bighouse Gaines Unsung Hero Award from the Winston-Salem State University Alumni Association. In November 2003, Williams arranged for Saint Augustine’s University to become the first historically black college to host the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships. In November 2010, Saint Augustine’s University hosted the Division II Atlantic Region Cross Country Championships.
Williams has won numerous other awards such as The Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award three times - from Governor Jim Martin, Governor James Hunt in 1996 and Governor Michael Easley in 2004. The Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award is the highest civilian honor presented by the Governor of North Carolina.
A faithful Falcon, Williams has served his alma mater (graduated 1965) in a variety of roles since 1968 including director of alumni affairs, admissions counselor, director of student activities and head basketball coach.
Williams was named men’s and women’s track and field and cross country coach in 1976 and named athletic director in 1997. In his one season as men’s basketball coach, Williams led the Falcons to a division title in 1998. Before he became a coaching legend, Williams made his name on the basketball court as a player for the Falcons.