Head women’s golf and softball coach Rhonda Williams has been named the interim athletic director at Fresno City College for the remainder of the 2013-2014 school year.
The announcement was made at the retirement ceremony of former athletic director Susan Yates on Aug. 31.
Williams is taking on the task of immediately succeeding Yates, whose 10 years as the sole athletic director included FCC’s first Junior/Community College Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, the highest national athletic award for a community college, for the 2011-2012 season. Yates retired on Sept. 1.
“She [Yates] set the bar very high, and it’s definitely going to be a challenge to pick up from where she left off and continue to move forward,” Williams said.
Williams said that becoming involved in athletic administration has always been her interest. During her Master’s degree program at Fresno State, her emphasis was in athletic administration. When the interim athletic director position was opened up for full-time coaches at FCC to apply, Williams took the opportunity.
“I always had thoughts of moving in that direction… I thought that [ the interim AD position] was a great opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,” Williams said.
While Williams plans to keep the athletics program “at a high level,” in conjunction with athletic success, Williams also plans to continue to stress academic success. She plans to grow “The Zone,” a student success program for student-athletes. She expects to see a lot of progress in The Zone’s impact on academics amongst student-athletes.
With limited guaranteed time at the helm, Williams plans to learn as much as possible and “keep my head above water.” However, even with an interim status, Williams has no plans to settle.
“This program is built on excellence, on the field, on the court and in the classroom,” Williams said. “We need to keep moving forward in both athletics and academics.”
Williams will not be the women’s golf or softball coach this year. Jenine Paniccia has been named the interim women’s golf coach. The interim softball coach has not been announced.
