Andrea Williams, the former commissioner of the Big Sky Conference and the first African American female commissioner of a Division 1 NCAA conference, is headed back to Utah.
This time as the Chief Experience Officer (CXO) of the Utah Jazz.
Williams, who was the Chief Operating Officer of the College Football Playoff since 2018, will be responsible for both experiences and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the newly created position with the team.
Starting on November 29th, according to the release, the Jazz’s new CXO will focus on “the delivery of world-class experiences for guests, partners, and employees of the organization” and she will also “lead all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the organization and share responsibility with the People & Culture department to attract, develop and retain diverse talent. She will have a public-facing role as a representative of the Jazz in the community.”
Williams is excited about her new role and is looking forward to returning to Utah.
“It is an honor to join the Utah Jazz, and I feel fortunate to work for an NBA team with such a rich history and incredible ties to the community,” said Williams. “I am looking forward to returning to the great state of Utah and working with the amazing staff of the Jazz organization. It has been a privilege to serve as Chief Operating Officer with the College Football Playoff, and I wish all the best to the great people associated with the organization.”
Andrea has had a long and highly successful career in the sports world.
Hailing from a military family, Williams was a two-sport athlete at Texas A&M and the first Aggie to letter in both volleyball and basketball in the same season.
She received her Bachelor’s from A&M and her MBA from Ohio University.
Williams moved up the ladder with stops at the NCAA and Sun Belt Conference before making her mark at the Big 10 Conference for over a decade. That’s when the Big Sky came calling and tabbed her as their commissioner in 2016.
She left the conference in 2018 to take the COO position at the College Football Playoff.
Three years later, she will return to Utah and the sport of basketball as the team’s CXO.
