Name: Vaughn Williams
Title: Director of Athletics
Contact: @KennesawStateAD
Company: Kennesaw State University
What They Do: Administrator. A potential maker. Serves student athletes and serves them like a ministry. Helps them to fulfill their potential.
Originally From: Central New Jersey
College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Field of Study: Originally wanted to be an engineer, but graduated with a degree in sport management
Recommended Books:
- “The Servant” by James Hunter
Listen in to the interview:
A Few Notes From the Show:
- He is preparing leaders in all aspects of their lives.
- Great perspective on where athletics and winning games fits into the equation.
- We talk about why he chose sports.
- He was in an engineering program in college but wasn’t happy. He always had a passion about sports.
- Didn’t get any internships after graduations so moved to Atlanta (the Olympics were coming in 4 years).
- Sent out 350 letters trying to get a sports job. Ended up selling cars for 2 months.
- We talk about taking an internship in Utah at a place that wasn’t very diverse.
- Wasn’t going to Utah for a social life, was going their to start his career.
- Talks about the lack of exposure to different cultures and how that plays into what we believe.
- Got a full time position at Utah and became the CFO for the athletic department.
- After Utah went to the University of Toledo as the Associate AD of Business Affairs.
- Took the Toledo position as a challenge and to see what he could do and what he could do without his mentor right there.
- Then went to Boston College as the Assistant AD for Event Management, Championships & Facilities (he was the first to have the position). It was work he hadn’t done before but he took a risk. It was a great opportunity to learn the craft and to be under a great leader.
- Got his master’s degree while he was there. Was there for 6.5yrs.
- Then he got a call to be at the University of Connecticut as an Associate AD. Was there for 6 years.
- Then became the AD for Kennesaw State. Going on his 5th year at the time of this recording.
- His mentors at Utah did not look like him but they invested in him.
- Talk about one of his mentors who was really honest with him by telling Vaughn that things were going to be different than what he was used to.
- We talk about confidence and we talk about environment.
- We have a responsibility
- You have to know your “why?”
- Believes we are all called to excellence.
- One of the beauty of college athletics is that there is only one way to get in.
- “Don’t bring checker pieces to a chess game; and life is a chess game.”
Love the show? Subscribe and get updates, podcast updates and articles designed to empower young professionals, just like you, sent directly to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE NOW
Ways to subscribe to the No More Reasonable Doubt podcast:
Click here to subscribe via iTunes.
Click here to subscribe via RSS (non-iTunes feed).
You can also subscribe via Stitcher, SoundCloud.