GMC legend Bert Williams to retire next week after 23 years with the Bulldogs
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
The thought of Bert Williams not on a GMC football sideline is one nobody who knows him or the program could envision, even after Williams underwent treatment for cancer that was diagnosed about 11 months ago.
But itâs happening. The school announced Wednesday morning that Williams is retiring, and that Nov. 3 is his final day at GMC.
A retirement ceremony will be held Monday at 3:30 p.m. at the Goldstein Center for the Performing Arts. It is closed to the public but will be livestreamed. Aft3erward, there will be a Bulldog Walk through the campus gates along the bricks at 4:30 p.m., which is open to the public.
Donations can be made to the Bert and Cathy Williams Athletic Endowed Scholarship Fund by check to the GMC Foundation, or online.
âThis is a very difficult decision for me but it is the right one for me and my family,â Williams said in a release from the school. âThe next step in my fight against cancer will be a long and onerous one and will simply not allow me to lead our athletic department or our football program. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have been the athletic director and head football coach at Georgia Military College for so many years and proud of the many accomplishments our players and coaches have achieved.
âOne of the main reasons my family and I decided to make Milledgeville and GMC our home was the opportunity to do work that mattered, to help young men and women build a foundation based on character, and to help make a difference in their lives. I believe this has been accomplished, and I am sure it will continue to be accomplished as others will now build on a tremendous foundation and tradition of success.â
In May, Williams left the Emory Winship Cancer Center, his cancer in full and official remission. There were still some outpatient treatments, but it was believed that would be it.
Williams became GMCâs offensive coordinator in 1997, taking over for Robert Nunn three years later.
He led GMC to 10 National Junior College Athletic Association bowl games, one of which gave the Bulldogs the national title in 2001 with trips to the national title game a year later and in 2013. Williams earned assorted national coach of the year honors in 2001, 2002, and 2013.
All that led to his induction, while still very active, in 2010, the first active head coach to be so honored. He has been the NJCAA Football Coaches Association and American Community College Football Coaches Association president.
Williams, owner of a 156-58 record, has also been GMCâs athletic director, and spearheaded improvements and expansion of the now-nine-sport program. GMC has grown to sponsoring menâs and womenâs soccer, coed rifle, menâs and womenâs golf, and menâs and womenâs cross country. The menâs golf program has three national titles, and the cross country program that has earned top-5 rankings is in the mid-November national championship meet.
Major impact has been felt by adding the Kidd Health and Wellness Center, renovation of the Ruark Athletic Complex, and the Mason Golf Performance Lab. He has helped raise more than $2.5 million in operating funds and scholarships for GMC athletes, including the Bert and Cathy Williams Athletic Endowed Scholarship Fund.
âCoach Williamsâ retirement is the end of an era at Georgia Military College,â said Lieutenant General (Ret.) William B. Caldwell, IV, President of GMC in a release. âFor more than 20 years Bert has served this institution and grown our Athletics Department exponentially. Heâs achieved so much success during his time here and we are so thankful for all heâs done for Georgia Military College, and especially for our student athletes.
âWe will miss him greatly but we know heâs looking forward to spending more time with his beloved wife Cathy, and his two boys Parker and Zach.â