GMC News
GMC Athletic Director and Head Football Coach, Bert Williams, to Retire
Georgia Military College Athletic Director and Head Football Coach, Bert Williams, to Retire
After a 23-year career at Georgia Military College, athletic director and head football coach, Bert Williams, is retiring.
Williams began his career at GMC in 1997 as an offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Bulldogs. He’s accumulated a record of 156-58 since being named head football coach and athletic director at GMC in 2000, and has led the program to have one of the country’s highest win percentages in NJCAA football. He led the Bulldogs to 10 NJCAA bowl games, a national championship in 2001, national championship game appearances in 2002 and 2013, and was named National Coach of the Year in 2001 (NJCFCA), 2002 (AFM/Schutt), and 2013 when he was named National Coach of the Year by both the AFCA and the NJCAA. Williams was inducted into the NJCAA Football Hall of Fame in 2010, the first active NJCAA coach to be so honored. He has also served as the NJCAA Football Coaches Association president and the ACCFCA president.
As the GMC Athletic Director, Williams has led the growth of the GMC Athletic Department from one to nine very successful athletic programs over the course of his tenure. He’s responsible for the addition of men’s soccer, women’s soccer, coed rifle, men’s and women’s cross-country, men’s and women’s golf, and softball. All of the GMC programs have developed to a position of consistent, high level success and have all won multiple conference championships and competed at national championship tournaments. The GMC Rifle Team has three NRA ROTC Division National Championships to its credit while the GMC Men’s Golf Program has also earned three NJCAA National Championships. With GMC’s men’s and women’s cross country teams being ranked #4 and #3 nationally and heading to compete in the NJCAA National Championship Meet in two weeks, more accolades may well be coming to GMC Athletics.
Williams’ leadership and impact have also been felt off the field as he has overseen and supervised facility improvements to the GMC soccer complex, the addition of the Mason Golf Performance Lab, the Kidd Health and Wellness Center, and the renovation of the Ruark Athletic Complex. Williams’ leadership has been instrumental in raising over $2.5 million dollars in endowed scholarships and operating funds for the GMC student-athletes over the years, as well as establishing the Bert and Cathy Williams Athletic Endowed Scholarship Fund. This scholarship provides financial assistance to student-athletes participating in any GMC Junior College athletic program. It assists with expenses incurred for tuition, fees, books, or uniforms.
“Coach Williams’ retirement is the end of an era at Georgia Military College,” said Lieutenant General (Ret.) William B. Caldwell, IV, President of GMC. “For more than 20 years Bert has served this institution and grown our Athletics Department exponentially. He’s achieved so much success during his time here and we are so thankful for all he’s done for Georgia Military College, and especially for our student athletes. We will miss him greatly but we know he’s looking forward to spending more time with his beloved wife Cathy, and his two boys Parker and Zach.”
Williams was a four-year letterman at Davidson College in North Carolina from 1986-1990. After earning his Bachelor of Arts in History at Davidson, he began his coaching career at the University of Georgia from 1990-1994. After a three-year stint as the offensive coordinator at Union College (Kentucky), he came to GMC in the spring of 1997 and has played an integral role at the institution ever since. Williams is a native of Augusta, who graduated from Westside High School, and is married to the former Catherine Ann Coffman of Atlanta. They are the proud parents of two sons, Parker and Zachary.
November 3, 2020 will be Williams last day at Georgia Military College, with a date of retirement set for January 1, 2021. During this time, Williams will be focusing on his health as he battles cancer.
“This is a very difficult decision for me but it is the right one for me and my family,” Williams said. “The next step in my fight against cancer will be a long and onerous one and will simply not allow me to lead our athletic department or our football program. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have been the athletic director and head football coach at Georgia Military College for so many years and proud of the many accomplishments our players and coaches have achieved. One of the main reasons my family and I decided to make Milledgeville and GMC our home was the opportunity to do work that mattered, to help young men and women build a foundation based on character, and to help make a difference in their lives. I believe this has been accomplished, and I am sure it will continue to be accomplished as others will now build on a tremendous foundation and tradition of success.”
On Monday, November 2, 2020, GMC will hold a retirement ceremony for Coach Williams in the Goldstein Center for the Performing Arts at 3:30 p.m. The event is closed to the public but will be livestreamed at https://video.ibm.com/channel/eBmVXkAk5HY. Following the ceremony there will be a Bulldog Walk through the gates of GMC beginning at 4:30 p.m. The community and media are invited to attend this outdoor event along the bricks and wave farewell to Williams and his family.
To honor Bert and his retirement, donations can be made to the Bert and Cathy Williams Athletic Endowed Scholarship Fund by check to the GMC Foundation, or online at give.gmc.edu. We hope you’ll join us as we celebrate Coach Williams’ 23-year career at Georgia Military College.
