College Football Playoff

Carla Williams is in her seventh year as Director of Athletics at the University of Virginia. During her time in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers have captured multiple national championships across numerous sports, including men's basketball (2019), men's lacrosse (2019 and 2021), women's swimming and diving (2021, 2022 and 2023) and men’s tennis (2022 and 2023). Under her leadership, UVA has also won 17 ACC championships.

In the classroom, Virginia student-athletes have set record numbers for placement on the ACC Honor Roll, achieving the highest grade-point average totals in program history while being recognized by the NCAA for outstanding achievement on academic progress reports. Since 2020, 12 UVA student-athletes have been named ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in their respective sports. In 2021, the Sports Business Journal named Williams a finalist for its Division I Athletics Director of the Year.

Williams was a three-year starter and All-SEC guard for the University of Georgia women's basketball team from 1987-89. After her playing days, she served as an assistant coach for the team before moving into administration as UGA's assistant director of compliance for a year before taking administrative roles at Florida State and Vanderbilt. In 2004, Williams returned to Georgia, where she worked her way up the ranks to deputy director of athletics before departing for UVA. Williams earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Georgia and a doctorate from Florida State.