Bentley hires BC associate AD Vaughn Williams as its athletics director

Formerly the senior associate athletics director at Boston College, Vaughn Williams is the new AD at Bentley University.

By Matthew Doherty

August 17, 2020

In a national search for the university’s third athletics director since 1963, Bentley stayed within the Route 128 belt, hiring Vaughn Williams, a highly-respected administrator who has served as the senior associate AD at Boston College for the past three years, the latest stop in what has been an impressive 27-year run with leadership roles at college programs.

A 1992 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, where he was an all-Yankee Conference football player, the 51-year-old Williams will succeed Bob DeFelice, who has run the athletic program at Bentley since 1991 (Al Shields was the program’s first AD, from 1963-91). The 78-year-old DeFelice is not stepping away from the baseball diamond, however; he will return for his 53rd season as head coach in 2021.

“This is a tremendous opportunity in an unprecedented time to build on the university’s commitment to providing student-athletes with an experience that leads them to life-long success,” said Williams, who will lead a department that fields 22 programs in the Division 2 Northeast-10 Conference, as well as its Division 1 men’s hockey team in Atlantic Hockey.

“I’m looking forward to serving Bentley student-athletes and helping them to be a force in everything they do, on and off the playing fields.”

After six years as the AD at Kennesaw State, Williams returned for his second tour at BC in 2017, hired by incoming athletic director Martin Jarmond to be one of his top administrators. At BC, Williams served as the sports administrator for football and men’s hockey, among other sports, and also oversaw the marketing and fan engagement team, campus recreation, and capital projects.

Williams was a potential candidate to replace Jarmond after he left BC for UCLA in May, but the school hired Patrick Kraft from Temple.

Williams previously worked at BC from 1998-2004 as the assistant athletic director for operations and facilities. He has also had positions within the athletic departments at Utah, Toledo, and UConn.