by Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–With the recent hiring and taking off the interim title for Cal Athletic Director Mike Williams it now adds some stability for the Cal athletic department and their looking for someone who is going to be leading the program and after being an interim for the last 11 months the university has decided to stay with Williams.

The main responsibility for the director is to hire a football or the basketball coach and the stability comes in terms of how much money is spent. The university spent big on upgrades on Memorial Stadium. That part of the budget put the university in a real bind in terms on how to finance the whole thing and hopefully with some of the positive changes happening in the athletic program and with Williams experience in financing that will improve.

Williams is an enigma in terms of who he is he had worked in the finance sector prior to coming to Cal and he was really involved in the day to day operations in running the athletic department and working at the university. He seems to have the respect from his head coaches and it’s student athletes. It’s too early to tell which direction Williams plans to take the athletic department but remember the biggest issue again is that there is some balance and semblance that they don’t over extend themselves on spending.

Williams will watch the finances in terms of not losing a sport or a program like they had with the crisis in the baseball program three years ago. It’s kind of hard to say what direction he would take the program but the basketball program is jelling with the recent signing of Ivan Rabb and Tyson Jolly. Williams knows that he’s still learning new things everyday but as the interim director he had good on the job training.

It’s important for Williams to keep his finger on the pulse of what happens with the athletic department and how it’s ran. Williams realizes he has to know what is going on, for example in the football program. Williams earned the respect of the coaches and players by attending their practices and standing in with the coaches and players to listen, observe and learn about each program. That might have very well been the key reason why he got the permanent job.

Morris Phillips is the Cal Bears beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to Morris’podcast below