Oct. 21, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- Richard Williams, who served as Mississippi State's head coach for 12 seasons and guided the Bulldogs to a 1996 NCAA Final Four appearance, has been named Director of Basketball Operations at UAB, according to an announcement by Blazers' head coach Mike Davis.

Williams was the head coach at MSU from 1986-98 and retired as the Bulldogs' all-time winningest coach with a record of 191-163.

Williams, who was twice named Southeastern Conference Coach-of-the-Year (1991 and 1995), coached Mississippi State to the Final Four in 1996, a season after taking the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Under Williams, State also earned berths to the National Invitation Tournament in 1990 and 1994.

"I am extremely excited to have Richard join our staff at UAB," said Davis. "He is someone who brings a lot of experience and can help us in many different ways. Adding someone the caliber of Richard Williams is a great benefit to our players, our staff and our program."

Williams is enthusiastic about coming on board at UAB. "I'm excited about joining the staff at UAB," said Williams. "I've known Mike a long time and have a lot of respect for Mike and the job he does. I'm anxious to see what kind of contributions I can make."

"UAB is an athletic team and plays extremely hard," Williams said. "The thing I don't know is how we compare with other teams in the league. I'm somewhat familiar with the league. I have done some TV work with Conference USA games so I know there is quality basketball in the league."

During Williams' tenure as the coach at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs had 18 players earn All-SEC honors. On 25 occasions, MSU players were listed on the SEC Academic Honor Roll.