“We are extremely excited and proud to have attracted such an accomplished coach like Coach Williams,” said LU Director of Athletics. “He has the coaching and administrative experience needed as we begin our first year as an NCAA Division II member. Lincoln is known for its success in track & field in Division III, and we believe Coach Williams will work tirelessly to build the same tradition in Division II.”                                 

During his six years as an assistant coach at GVSU, Williams specialized with the sprints, hurdles and relays. “Ray” cultivated 99 NCAA Division II Track & Field USTFCCCA All-Academic athletes, 55 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champions, one USATF Jr. National Qualifier and one Canadian Athletics qualifier.  In all, GVSU churned out 25 NCAA Division II All-Americans and 70 NCAA qualifiers, breaking 21 school records in the process.

Since 2006, the women's teams enjoyed eight top-five finishes at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships, the best was a second-place effort this past winter at the Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. They followed that up with a third-place showing at the 2010 Outdoor Championships, hosted by CIAA Institution Johnson C. Smith.  The men, meanwhile, claimed five finishes in the top 10, including fourth during the 2008 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field National Championships.

"As a student-athlete I have always admired the competitive prowess that Lincoln student-athletes carried,” Williams said. "I am aware of the high achievements and expectation that awaits us as we make the transition from an NCAA Division III to Division II institution and enter the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.”

Williams, a native of Chicago, has worked diligently at many national camps throughout his career. This past summer, he served as an instructor at the UCLA Speed and Power Camp and was the keynote speaker and clinician at the 2010 Chicago Public Schools Track & Field Clinic. He also directed the Speed and Power Development Camp at Grand Valley State from 2005-2010.

Williams completed his Masters in Education at GVSU, and graduated from North Central College in Naperville, Ill., in 1995 with a degree in Urban Sociology.

At North Central, Williams was a NCAA Division III All-American in the 110 hurdles in 1995, Team Captain, and three-time CCIW Conference Champion. His efforts helped the Cardinals on their way to a Division III Outdoor National Championship in 1994. Williams was also a member of the DC Capitals Track and Field Club teams from 1996-2000.

Prior to coaching at Grand Valley, Williams was a men's and women's assistant track & field coach at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisc. where he concentrated on sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers. 

In his years preceding the position at Marquette, Williams served as the Director of Student-Athlete Development and men's and women's assistant track and field coach at the University of Detroit for the 2001-2002 season. During his stint with the Titans, four of his athletes captured conference titles.

Before he joined the Detroit program, he was the assistant women's cross country and track and field coach at Western Michigan in 2000-2001 and from 1997-2000 he enjoyed a productive stint as the assistant track and field coach at the University of Chicago. While at Chicago, he coached a three-time NCAA Division III All-American and two NCAA Division III national qualifiers.

In addition to coaching, Williams has worked with the Boy Scouts of America, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL). He also served as the Undergraduate Advisor for the Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc. at GVSU.

Williams and his wife, Danyual, have two sons: Daniel and Kamran.

“We will continue to recruit the brightest and the best student-athletes to compete here at Lincoln not only to win championships but also to become tomorrow's leaders in our society," Williams said.

— LU —