Williams Resigns as Women’s Basketball Coach

MARS HILL, N.C. - Jennifer Williams has resigned as the head women's basketball coach at Mars Hill College, Athletic Director David Riggins announced today. A search for a replacement will begin immediately.

Williams stated, "It is with mixed emotions that I resign my position at Mars Hill College. Over the past six years I've grown as a coach and as an administrator. I've had the opportunity to coach some amazing young people who have touched my life more than they will ever know. I'd like thank Coach Riggins and Dr. Lunsford for giving me my first head coaching job and for continuously trusting me with more responsibilities. As a head coach I always talk about the importance of family, and after being a part from my husband for a year, it's important that I take care of my family now. Mars Hill will always be a special place and I'll forever be grateful for the opportunities I got, the friends I made, and the student-athletes I got to coach."

Williams coached six seasons at Mars Hill College. She also served as the senior woman administrator, assistant athletic director, the advisor for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and is the conference captain for the South Atlantic Conference. She also chaired the conference SAAC.

During her tenure at MHC, Williams has coached one Academic All-American, one All-Region player, six All-SAC selections and five players joined the program's 1,000-point club. She also coached three All-SAC Freshmen players and two SAC Scholar Athletes. Five career records have been broken under Coach William's direction. Abby DeBusk broke the career assist record (457) during the 2006-07, Lindsay Roberts snapped the career blocked shots record (160) during the 2007-08 season, and during the 2008-09 season, Brittini Young set the marks for best free throw percentage in a season (86.5%) and most three point field goals attempted in a season (181). Young also set the single season scoring average record (22 points per game) in the 2009-2010 campaign.

Athletic Director David Riggins stated, "Replacing Jen will be a very difficult task. She is an excellent basketball coach who absolutely loves working with young people. When you pair that with her abilities as an administrator, it is easy to understand why she has been such an asset to our institution."

Williams came to Mars Hill from Ashland University where she served as the top women's basketball assistant under Sue Ramsey from June of 2004-06.Williams worked at the NCAA before coaching at Ashland.

Williams began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Eastern Illinois University in August of 2001 where she earned her master's degree in Athletic Administration in May of 2003. She then moved on to Franklin College in 2004 where she served as an assistant for one year. She was involved in every aspect of the program at Franklin. While at Franklin the team won the HCAC regular season and tournament titles and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Williams played four seasons for the Baldwin-Wallace College women's basketball team. Her squad won three consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) championships as well as a pair of trips to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III tournament. She was a team captain and earned WBCA/Kodak First Team All-America honors as a senior in 2001.

Williams, a native of Toledo, Ohio, earned a bachelor's degree from Baldwin-Wallace in 2001 as a double major in Business and Psychology. Williams is married to David Williams, the head softball coach at Morehead State University.