Sue Williams recalls how she loved to run through the hills and valleys of Arkansas as a youth — she enjoyed the rush of competition and a particular uncle who was an inspiring coach in basketball, her favorite sport then.
Now, years later, Williams, a longtime UC Davis coach and instructor, is helping UC Davis usher in the Division I era on the wings of her latest achievement — she is the 2003 recipient of the prestigious James H. Meyer Distinguished Achievement Award from the UC Davis Academic Federation.
Williams, the program director for physical education in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and founder of the women’s cross-country program, will receive the Meyer Award at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, in AGR Hall in the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center.
The award, which is presented to Academic Federation members with a distinguished career in research or public service, carries a stipend of $1,000. Members of the university community — Academic Federation, Academic Senate, students and staff — are able to nominate a member of the Academic Federation for the Meyer Award.
Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef described Williams as “one of his favorite people in the world” and a strong supporter of UC Davis’ swtich to Division I athletics this past year.
“Sue Williams loves UC Davis as much or more than anyone,” Vanderhoef said. “She’s been a strong advocate and visionary for women’s sports on this campus. Of all her accomplishments, she’s proudest of those that occur on behalf of student-athletes. Among the many I consulted, I had to know first and foremost that she believed that we could enter the Division I era with enthusiasm and assurance that our core values could and would continue. She did and only then was I finally and fully convinced.”
Upon learning of her selection for the Meyer Award, Williams exclaimed she was “stunned and terribly pleased.”
But it’s not surprising.
During Williams’ 31 years of coaching, the women’s intercollegiate athletics program at UC Davis has grown into what Sports Illustrated has named as the top D-II women’s program in the nation. Williams estimates she’s coached more than 500 students in her career at Davis — and more than 70 of them were All-Americans.
Williams started working at UC Davis in 1972 as a physical education teacher and coach. She received her bachelor’s degree in physical education from Arkansas Polytechnic University and then taught for several years in Arkansas public schools and at the University of Arkansas.
She came to UC Davis anticipating she would stay a few years and then return to the University of Arkansas.
“I stayed because UC Davis had such a wonderful commitment to academic athletics. Very few institutions then were trying to do athletics the way UC Davis was,” she said.
For Williams, the most important aspect of her job is preparing students for the future — beyond athletics. She noted that student-athletes at UC Davis have higher graduation rates and grade-point averages than the typical UC Davis student.
“Our coaches are clear when it comes to balancing learning in the classroom with and athletic pursuits on the field.”
During her tenure, she has led the women to 20 Northern California Athletic Conference titles in the past 23 years. The men’s team, which she also coached, has finished in the top 15 nationally in six of the past eight years.
The most publicly visible accomplishment of the UC Davis cross-country program occurred when an alumnus runner from the collegiate program, Linda Somers Smith, coached by Williams from the beginning of her running career, qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team in the marathon at the Atlanta Olympics. She is the only Olympic athlete developed at UC Davis in any sport.
Williams has some thoughts to share on how UC Davis will adjust to Division I athletics.
“I think the challenge will be to move our current philosophy into Division I. Our approach now is that all athletes are equal in intercollegiate athletics, that all our athletes will be UC-type athletes, and that the graduation rate and grade-point averages of our student-athletes are the primary measures of their successes in addition to their athletic achievements,” she said.
Williams explained that the UC Davis athletic program exists to nurture students “so they can learn from athletic competition. Our oversight program has protected these values wonderfully, and I’m confident that both athletics and the campus will have the will to do so in the years to come.”
Williams experienced the same kind of guidance as a youngster. Her “beloved” uncle, “H.B.” Stewart, encouraged her with his dedicated coaching style. He taught his athletes to work harder than anyone else and to bring more heart to competition than anyone else.
“I still think that’s an approach that will never be outdated,” says Williams.