Former Purdue football player Calvin Williams serves as an associate athletics director and is a member of the senior administrative staff. His role includes sport administrator oversight for six programs: men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track & field, volleyball and wrestling.
In addition, Williams oversees several initiatives at Purdue that involve gender equity and minority enhancement, including the assistant coaches development series and diversity programs. He also serves on the Athletics Council, a group of faculty, staff and students that report to the president's office on matters regarding intercollegiate athletics at Purdue.
Williams is the Sport Management Council (SMC) representative to the Big Ten Conference for Purdue and previously served as chair of the group. He currently acts as liaison to the wrestling coaches for the Big Ten and previously he served in the same capacity for the baseball coaches.
In 2016, Williams participated in the Division 1A Athletic Directors' Association Institute educational forum aimed at preparing aspiring associate athletics directors to become athletics directors.
Williams, a four-year letterwinner at wide receiver for the Boilermakers from 1986 to 1989, returned to his alma mater as assistant athletics director in 2011. He was promoted to associate athletics director in 2013.
Before coming back to the Boilermakers, Williams served as athletics director at Bluford Drew Jemison Academy in Baltimore from 2009 to 2011. He previously was an assistant football coach at Morgan State University (1999-2000) and a physical education and health educator in the Baltimore City Public School System (1997-99). He completed an internship with the Houston Texans during the summer of 2010. From 1995 to 2009, Williams was owner and president of Calese Inc., a property development business in Baltimore.
Williams was selected in the fifth round of the 1990 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and subsequently played professionally for seven seasons with the Eagles (1990-96) and Baltimore Ravens (1996).
Thirty years after concluding his collegiate eligibility, Williams still ranks among the Purdue career leaders with 138 receptions (18th), 1,855 receiving yards (15th) and 17 receiving touchdowns (tied for eighth). He was the Boilermakers' team Most Valuable Player his senior season.
A native of Baltimore, Williams graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in 1985. He earned his bachelor's degree in hotel/institutional management in 1990 and his master's degree in education in 2014. He and his wife, Charese, have three children: Jonah, Sydney and Rachel.
