MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame
Bill Williams helped lay the foundation of the pole vault tradition at Missouri Southern which has produced multiple National Champions and All-Americans for the Green and Gold.
Williams began as a volunteer assistant coach for the Lions in 1993. He started from scratch where the need was great, but the budget was small. Williams went to family and friends and the community at-large and sought donations for the program.
During his tenure, five vaulters would achieve All-American status 11 times. Williams was honored by an invitation to speak at the National Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nevada in 2003. The year after Williams retired, the Southern pole vaulters went on to finish 1-2-3-4-5 at the MIAA Outdoor Championships, and then Matt Campbell, Kyle Rutledge and Chris Turner went on to finish 1-2-3 at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships. Williams' grandson, Jacob Williams, was a four-time All-American in the pole vault for the Lions, earning national runner-up status in the 2008 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships.
Williams passed away in 2009, but the Williams' family legacy lives on in the form of the Bill and Willa Williams scholarship with the Missouri Southern Foundation. To this day, dozens of MSSU Track and Field athletes have benefited from the family's generosity.
