As the Big Sky Conference landscape continues to change, the league will now have a new leader for the first time in two decades.
In February, Doug Fullerton announced his retirement as the conference commissioner. The former Montana State athletic director and native of Hamilton has served in the position since 1995.
Last month, the league announced the hiring of Andrea Williams as the sixth commissioner in the league’s 53-year history. The former basketball and volleyball standout at Texas A&M has served as the associate commissioner for the Big Ten Conference for the last 10 years.
“Andrea has made a substantial impact during her time at the Big Ten Conference,” James Edward Delany, the current commissioner of the Big Ten, said in a Big Sky press release. “Her diverse background in sports administration, event planning and operations allows her to work seamlessly with our member institutions and build relationships with countless external partners in our host cities.”
Williams is currently the chair of the NCAA WBCO, and is the past president of the Collegiate Event and Facility Managers Association, under NACDA. She also volunteers at several major events such as the CFP National Championship Game, Super Bowl and Transplant Games of America.
Williams earned a Master of Sport Administration in the School of Business from Ohio University in April 2016.
Since 2010, the Big Ten has been on the forefront of the changing landscape of college athletics. The league added Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers as full-time members this decade. The league now includes 15 teams, including eight that boast total revenues of more than $100 million. The most recent television agreement between the conference and ESPN nets each school $45 million annually.
Williams comes to the Big Sky with a vision of expanding the conference’s regional brand with a sharp understanding of new age media and modern consumption. While she admits she is still learning the history and future challenge of the league, she is pointed in her vision for how to help the league’s brand grow.
On May 3, Williams and Southern Utah president Scott Wyatt, the chairman of the Big Sky’s search committee, conducted a 45-minute teleconference with media members from throughout the conference.
Scott Wyatt, Southern Utah president: “We did a national search. We had the services of Daniel Parker from Parker (Executive Search firm). We had dozens of applicants from around the country. We had sitting commissioners, associate commissioners, athletic directors, people from other backgrounds. To combine them all, we had a good selection of commissioners from a whole variety of conferences and regions that we were able to look at and interview.
“We narrowed down and made our final decision and are absolutely thrilled that Andrea Williams has accepted the offer to be our new commissioner. We think she is the perfect person for us, the kind of experience, the energy, her experiences all the way from being a championship student-athlete to being a very successful associate commissioner, we are just thrilled to have her leading the Big Sky.”
Andrea Williams, new Big Sky Conference commissioner: “It’s finally official.
“Thank you, President Wyatt. I appreciate you taking the time to join the conference call. I first want to thank Scott and the full selection committee for affording me this opportunity. I am honored and humbled and excited to serve as the next Big Sky commissioner. I start in just two short months (July 1) and there are a number of house keeping items to close out with the Big Ten.
“In the meantime, I’m shifting my focus to the Big Sky and it’s member institutions. I also want to take the opportunity to recognize the work of commissioner Doug Fullerton and his work over the last two decades.”
Colter Nuanez, Skyline Sports: “How did this opportunity first come about? When were you first presented with this and what made it seem like an intriguing opportunity to you?”
Williams: “I was contacted by the Parker Search Firm in early March and they brought the opportunity and the position to my attention, gave me a little more detail about the commissioner role. In particular, we spent a lot of time talking about the Big Sky member institutions and their leadership.
“I had the opportunity to provide my interest. I was very fortunate to be selected as one of the finalists to come in and interview for the position. I can tell you the people just absolutely wowed me. Scott led a great group of presidents, administrators. There were even some student-athletes as part of the process. The thing that truly impressed me were the people who were sitting around the table, how much they were engaged and how committed the conference’s mission and supporting student-athletes at ever level, whether it’s athletics or academic.
“I certainly recognized very early on the great opportunity it would be to move over and transition into the Big Sky. I knew right away it would be a great fit. I can’t wait to get started.”
Jim Allen, Spokesman Review: Can you briefly describe the work you’ve done in the Big Ten and how that prepares you for this? And can you talk about how your leadership style and experience will transfer to this job?
Williams: “I hate to admit it but I have 20-plus years in the athletic world and that started as a student-athlete at Texas A&M where I played both volleyball and basketball. That was a tremendous experience. I’m like many others who realized and recognize all the hard work of those around me, whether that was coaches or administrators to create an experience for all the athletes competing on different sports on campus. Really, that was my first introduction to athletics.
“Because of my experience, I’ve had a unique upbringing if you will within the athletic community. Really, my background started in television. I thought that commentating would be an area of real focus for me. With that, I took the turn toward communications. I thought if I wanted to be able to speak in front of the television, I should be able to write and know what you’re talking about.
“I actually changed the direction of my career at that point. In terms of the experience and background I have, it stems from communication to marketing to officiating to event management to television management to a number of other things. I’ve been in the back seat for a commissioner who has worked in and been exposed to a number of different areas in collegiate athletics whether it was at the institution level, the conference level or within the national office. All of them have been great.
“That’s why I use the term humble. There have been so many instrumental people who are creating experiences, whether its for student-athletes or for fans going to those games, providing opportunity and access. All those things are incredibly important to me.
“In terms of my leadership style, the word they like to use these days is transformational. At the end of the day, my style and my approach is to be collaborative. That could be in the conference office with my staff. That includes presidents, administrators and student-athletes. I think a big part of it is what do our constituents about the Big Sky? Whether that’s our alumni or our television partners or our sponsored partners, it’s just so important to get everyone involved in the big picture for the growth and the elevation for the Big Sky.
“It’s my goal in the next couple of months to really lean on the staff and those who have laid the ground work and foundation for the Big Sky over the years to continue to build on the great work that already exists.”
Mark Liptak, Idaho State radio: What is your vision for the Big Sky for football for the future? There has been a lot of speculation the last few years to perhaps split into two leagues or splitting into two divisions with a championship game. I know you just got here, but can you give us an overview for what your vision will be for the next few years from a football standpoint?
Williams: “Please know that any of my perspective is looking from the outside in. There are a number of individuals who have been a part of growing this conference for the past 50 years. I would be naïve to think I could come in from the outside without truly understanding the work that has been done before me.
“The announcement of Idaho last week in terms of coming back in with football in 2018, that’s significant. I’m certainly excited to welcome them back on the football side to the Big Sky.
“From my experience, and I’ll use the Big Ten as an example, we grew from 11 teams to 12 teams in 2010 with the addition in Nebraska then to adding Rutgers and Maryland. So the Big Ten has experience with expansion and what that means for football. We used that opportunity to create divisions and add a championship game. We certainly went through that just a few years ago.
“For me, as I look at football and quite frankly all of our sports, we have to understand where we have been, why we’ve made the decisions we have made and primarily what are the priorities of our member institutions? With great direction from our presidents as well as working with our administrators on campus to determine is the Big Sky positioned where it wants to be on the football front, whether that’s the number of schools who are participating? Is there a need or demand for divisions? I can tell you with the Big Ten, those conversations happened over years of time. So I need to get inside the door and have a better understanding of what the history has been for the decisions that have been made certainly before inputting my perspective in July.”
Craig Haley, STATS: Coming from the Big Ten, that’s the one conference that has really taken a stand against playing FCS schools moving into the future. You can make a case on both sides. Now that you’ve been involved in both sides of that, can you tell me about the FBS-FCS moving forward with playing each other?
Williams: “Sure and Craig, that’s a great question because certainly perception and perspective changes based on your role, right? My answer coming from a Big Ten standpoint might be a little bit different.
“Conferences, schools, football teams have to be strategic. They have to be smart how they schedule, whether you’re an FBS or an FCS team scheduling up. It’s all about a full body of work. With the number of college games that are happening these days, teams can have more options with what they can do with their non-conference schedules. They have the ability to schedule games or travel or bring teams in. There are a number of factors that play into whether you schedule games or not.
“Speaking from a competitive standpoint, that’s why we play the games. You have to show up day in and day out in order to be successful. What’s great is the Big Sky had three victories over FBS teams last year. To say not to schedule them or to question if they are competitive or not, you are seeing victories happen and you are seeing competitive matchups happen and that’s important.
However, the FBS conferences have their our priorities. If it’s important for them to not schedule FCS teams, that’s certainly their prerogative.”
Josh Friessen, Idaho State Journal: Big Sky basketball, both men and women, have seen attendance numbers dip. Interest has dipped. From your experience, can basketball build more interest moving forward?
Williams: “If anyone has the answer that relates to attendance and events, they would bottle it up and sell it on the shelf for a good profit at this point. I do think it’s a challenge across the country.
“The Big Ten is very similar. The Big Sky is not alone in regard to attendance. Whether you are talking about NCAA post season or conference post season or even within the regular season, it’s a challenge. No. 1, it’s a challenge to keep fans engages. You typically have fans that are loyal to their team and not necessarily a specific sport.
“In addition, folks want to support teams that have success. Not everybody can win so you lose people there as well.
“But mostly, we are competing against a world of entertainment. We are not just competing against ourselves. We are competing against how fans are spending their discretionary funds. Individuals have the opportunities to go to a movie or a concert or a circus. Those are the different events that we are competing with. That’s a challenge.
“The other big one is how people are watching sports, how they are taking in athletic event experiences. If someone can stay home and watch TV from the comfort of their couch, they have their TV, their tablets, their IPhones. They don’t have to fight with traffic or parking. There are a number of challenges that we continue to face with building attendance across all sports and all divisions across the country. The Big Ten has certainly seen that.
“It’s very important to be strategic in the marketing effort. We need to find new and non-traditional ways to get your fans engaged. And let’s be honest, we have to win games. We have to be successful to bring in the fans.
“I think another big piece of it is, and it really starts at the grass roots level, is engaging at the local level. Where your schools are based is important. Having coaches and student-athletes and individuals in the athletic department to really engage in the community and build that support locally and hopefully when they are traveling to a neutral site tournament or hopefully they have a chance to advance in an NCAA championship. Hopefully they are following you, are cheering for you and want to be there to celebrate in your success as well. We could have a conference call solely about attendance. It’s definitely something I’m passionate about. It’s definitely a challenge across all divisions and all sports.”
Ryan Tootell, ESPN Radio Missoula: As you’ve been in the Big Ten, a powerful conference with much more money than the Big Sky, what are the things you might be able to bring from the Big Ten that the Big Sky has not implemented yet that you might like to, like a television network, a radio network, streams online or anything else you might have in mind?
Williams: “We have seen a lot of growth in the last five years, 10 years, 20 years. The landscape has changed just tremendously over the years in how we manage the business. How we go about structuring what we do and how we manage our business is very important.
“Certainly the Big Ten has done a lot of good things, whether it’s been concussion research to implementing video replay for football to being part of the autonomy structure. The Big Ten has been at the forefront for a number of those things.
“I think the Big Sky has been really a leader across all FCS conferences and that’s certainly something that is very exciting. Their strength and stability over the years is very well know and I think we can build on that.
“I think one of the areas that is truly interesting and we talk about the landscape of college athletics changing is technology. One day, they are announcing a certain software and the next day, there is an upgrade for it.
“When you talk about new concepts and ideas, something that comes to mind right away is providing non-traditional coverage through streaming media. I think that is pretty neat these days because as you know, our first screen these days is our IPhone. We are running to our phones to get all sorts of content from non-traditional mediums.
“We see YouTube for instance providing new and live content. We’ve seen Facebook provide live content. I think looking at new ways to present programing within the conference, I think that’s unique.
“We can certainly talk about how we can get the rich history of Big Sky institutions to create these events, potentially putting sporting contests in non-traditional venues. This seems to be something that is being picked up more and more across the country in terms of creating new opportunities and ways to experience new events, whether that’s putting an ice hockey game or a wrestling match in a football stadium to putting a basketball game on an aircraft carrier. I’m certainly not saying those are on my to-do list but I think there is a real unique way to look at college athletics and you don’t have to stay in the same box we’ve been in for so many years. I feel so many other conferences have done that. The opportunities and brain storming about those things are endless.”
Nuanez, Skyline Sports: What do you see as the biggest issue facing the Big Sky Conference? What is your vision for how you are going to attack that right away?
Williams: “That’s a great question. Coming from the outside in, it’s really hard to pinpoint what that might be. I think first off, the stability of the conference, the fact that it’s been around for five decades, when we are talking about conference alignment, the Big Sky is in a situation to where they have members that are joining. I think that’s unique.
“The one thing that comes to mind when we have that conversation is is the Big Sky at the right amount of schools? I know those conversations have been ongoing prior to Idaho’s announcement along with some other low-hanging fruit that is out there. Are we at the right number? Do we need to grow, do we need to get bigger? Do we need to be patient before making a move? I think that in general is an issue.
“We certainly want to make sure the focus stays on the student-athlete experience. All the conversations I’ve had with the presidents, that priority is paramount to them. There’s certainly some external threats exist whether it’s for the Big Sky or FCS conferences. How that litigation plays out over the next couple of years will have a direct impact on the way we do business or ways we may or may not have to change our rules. There’s a couple of things that do exist, whether they are internal or external that will certainly direct our attention and our focus moving forward.
“But the group that has been there has had those conversations and are catching up with what those are to help lead us in the direction with where our members want to go.”
Kyle Sample, Missoulian: You talked about the streaming and technology and such. The Missouri Valley Conference, they have a deal with ESPN for streaming various sports, football, basketball and other sports. The Big Sky has WatchBigSky.com but there seems to be no real national platform other than the ROOT Sports TV deal. Is that something you will explore and is that something the Big Sky needs to do to enhance it’s national footprint?
Williams: “I think all the different conferences with their respective television deals, they are all important. The bottom line is you want to be able to reach your alumni. You want to be able to showcase your student-athletes in your sports and your venues. Any real exposure you get is going to be positive. I think where people have to be strategic or smart is where they are either developing or negotiating their new contracts and taking into account how technology is changing and how people are watching sports and absorbing getting content. It’s ever changing. Sometimes, you have to allow things to be a little open in terms of what goes above and beyond a linear network.
“Streaming is important because people are online searching for content through non-traditional outlets. It’s going to be important because I’m sure 10 years ago, we never thought we’d be watching events on a small device in our hands versus a big screen TV at our home or a restaurant. We have to understand things are changing with the television landscape perspective. It’s important to have options, to leave it open whether it’s the television partner or the media partner so we can take advantage.
“Some of it could be incremental. Look at the live content that has been happening over YouTube. YouTube has been around for while but people have been experimenting but we have the right people at the table who can look at what is new, what is different and being ok with taking risks. As long as their understanding what is working and what is failing and taking a chance on doing something different while keeping elevating the league in mind.”
Luptick, ISU: Commissioner, you kind of eluded to this, internal threats, litigation and how the Big Sky is going to do business. I’d like to ask you about your thoughts on full cost of attendance scholarships. I ask that in the context that North Dakota has already announced that this year they will be offering said full cost of attendance scholarships. I know in September, Rob Spear, the athletic director at Idaho said in a radio interview said that that is Idaho’s plan. Obviously, some schools currently in the Big Sky are financially not able to do this. I wonder your thoughts on competitive balance. What happens in the near future if there are three or four schools in the Big Sky that can offer full cost of attendance scholarships and other schools simply cannot?
Williams: “I’ll offer a couple of brief words and we will leave it open if President Wyatt wants to provide some background since he’s been in the room for those discussions within the Big Sky Conference.
“When the cost of attendance came down and it was permissible for institutions to do that, there was a lot of conversation. There was some concern. Certainly, the fact that institutions on the academic side were already providing it, it made sense and seemed a natural fit to do it on the athletic side. I think there were a number of considerations that had to be accounted for.
“Institutions and their budgets and having their projections out for a certain number of years, it was like finding new money. Not to say that coming from a Big Ten perspective that our schools were not healthy and wealthy. It’s a matter of how do you take those moneys and assign them and allot them in a different way. It definitely changed the financial model and the budget model for institutions. In the Big 5 autonomy conferences, it was a challenge for our conference to get to that point.”
“I think it’s very important for the Big Sky to figure out what is best for their institutions. Obviously, it would be great if everyone could do the same thing, have the same offerings to be competitive across the board but I realize that’s not always the case and that’s not always an option.
“One of the big things that came out when cost of attendance was passed was the fact that people worry would use it as a recruiting advantage. What we found is that you could have two schools in the same state with very different cost of attendance packages. You might have an Indiana that is providing more money but student-athletes would have to purchase their own IPads for class. But maybe you have Purdue where the funding is a little bit less but you have a lot more offerings in your package. Certainly, people can try to leverage it against each other but until folks really get down and look at what the actual package is, you never know. It’s based on a dollar amount that you are going to get more opportunity through those offers.
“At the end of the day, you are providing a service to student-athletes and that’s priority. I know it’s something the group has talked about. I will certainly stop there and turn it over to President Wyatt.”
Wyatt: “It’s been interesting over the last few months as we’ve been engaged in this search to also look at other conferences. It seems as though the financial differences, the ability that the schools in the Big Sky Conference are not as far apart as they are in many different conferences. I think that financially, we are more competitive than we sometimes assume.
“Initially, North Dakota is going to full cost of attendance but it’s helpful to remember that their recruiting world around their region is all full of cost of attendance. I think we see very little crossover or competition in recruiting athletes from other Big Sky Conference schools than North Dakota. This is one of those interesting topics that we want to talk about that can’t talk about that everyone is interested in. I think we will figure it out.
“The main message that I’m coming away with is our institutions are financially more similar than a lot of conferences out there.”
Nuanez, Skyline Sports: You mentioned using Parker Executive to aid this process. How many overall applicants did you have? How did you whittle it down? What helped Williams rise to the top?
Wyatt: “I should’ve anticipated this question and went back to my notes (laughs). There were between 40 and 50 applicants but I don’t remember the exact number.
“What we were looking for coming from a conference who has had a commissioner who has served us very well, commissioner Fullerton for 20 years, is that we are hoping to get somebody who had experience at all levels, who had had a great experience as a student-athlete who could bring in new vision, new ideas from other parts of the country, other levels of conferences and somebody who frankly could inspire us and help us see everything that is good from a background of being able to look through and progress and resolve challenges at the same time.
“When the interviews were over with, frankly, we were all inspired by Andrea. We love her experience and her background. We know she is going to remain focused on the student experience. And we were very inspired by her. We look at her as a wonderful leader for us moving into the future.”
Sample, Missoulian: With the work you’ve done in collegiate sports and the Big Ten with event planning in football and basketball, coming to the Big Sky, you’ve mentioned a few times that you want to wait until you’ve had discussions with people within the Big Sky. But you must’ve come to your interview with specific ideas of what you thought the Big Sky needed to do to improve and remain relevant in college sports. Specifically, what were some of those ideas? What were the most important ideas you brought?
Williams: “I want to even start by saying the Big Sky has a great, rich tradition and history in athletics and how it relates to its success. I think that is usually important and significant. Nowhere in my thoughts and direction would it be to come in and turn the apple cart upside down. With that, taking the information from an outside perspective and learning more about the conference, just finding ways to see if we can find ways to create new opportunities for revenue.
“That’s certainly something that is very important for colleges and conferences to find new revenue sources. That’s always key. Some of that could already be internal in terms of are we managing the most efficiently as a league? Are we using and leveraging our relationship with Learfield and our sponsorships to the best of our ability? Is there money still being left on the table?
“Obviously, one of the things we need to figure out something quickly is the television contract, what we might need for the Big Sky and the unique opportunities that might exist in those conversations. I think there are a number of important things there.
“One of the things that is happening in the Big Sky now is going through an educated plan and vision, revision if you will to truly identify where the Big Sky has been and where we would like to go to. There are some great findings and research for that. I will certainly be coming into the middle of that and getting caught up. However, it’s so important before you come in and identify what those pieces are, where you come from, what your history is, what the background is. I can tell you there have been a number of high priority issues and conversations in the Big Ten that have taken place over a decade. If you don’t pay attention and acknowledge those, it’s very difficult to move forward.
“Another priority for me is to get our conference administrators together. They are a great group. They are an authentic group, a smart group. There are better ways to manage our governance process and structure in a way that we need, in a way we exchange ideas, the way we vote on policy. Certainly being more inclusive, more transparent and providing more opportunities to members to really thrive where the Big Sky is going and the future of the conference. It definitely will be collaborative in nature. We certainly want to work with all the respective stake holders to make sure we are following our mission and what the core values are for the Big Sky.”
Nuanez, Skyline Sports: Taking over a leadership position in a league that has had such a steady leader for such a long time with Doug Fullerton being in a position he’s been in for the last 20 years, is there any challenges there and are you comfortable with disrupting the status quo?
Williams: “Not disruptive, not shaking things up. I think one thing we all know is change is inevitable. We all need to change to be successful. I’m grateful for the work of Doug, the conference office and all the member institutions for all the work they have done. The goal is to come in and compliment that and enhance that.
“I was at a meeting last week and I heard an interesting comment that really stuck with me. ‘With change, you hope that individuals don’t look at it as a challenge but really as an opportunity.’ So the goal is to build on the success thus far and then finding unique, creative, new ideas to carry it forward. That’s the part I’m really excited about. Being able to work with the conference staff on campuses, that I’m truly excited about. It’s a time of transition. Being a leader for any amount of time, there will be questions. The goal is to avoid any gaps, to keep the train on the track and continue to elevate from where we are today. I think the Big Sky has positioned itself to continue to be successful with new opportunities on the horizon. I’m excited about that and will recognized the great work our member institutions have already done. I will start engaging them once July 1 hits.”
Sample, Missoulian: President Wyatt, was it important when selecting candidates to find somebody who had a long, deep background in event planning, specifically basketball and football?
Wyatt: “I think that is important and helpful but that certainly wasn’t one of the leading concerns. The leading concern for us was the whole package, the complete person, somebody who has experience in all the areas, understands all the areas, can teach student athletes the experience foremost, help us complete our strategic plan, help the Big Sky in its goal to continue to be more and more the perfect example of college athletics done right, become more competitive, have these great championship experiences.
“I would answer the question by saying if I was to read through Commissioner Williams’ resume, about every other line or paragraph, I would say this is one of those things that was very important for us. If this is my last question, I would like to reiterate how honored we are that she has chosen to join us and how thrilled we are to begin this process to continue to define and build the Big Sky with her as our leader.”
