Jacksonville University Athletics is saddened to hear of the passing of legendary men's basketball head coach Joe Williams.
 
Williams passed on Saturday, March 26 in Enterprise, Miss. after a short stint in hospice care. He was 88.
 
"Joe meant a great deal to our university, program and the entire region," said Athletic Director Alex Ricker-Gilbert. "He was a trailblazer and the head coach of one of the original 'Cinderellas'.
 
"He will forever be the coach who helped put Jacksonville University on the map."
 
The head coach at JU from 1966-70, he was most notably the head man for the 1969-70 run to the Final Four, finishing as the national runner-up that season. He helped JU transition from NAIA to NCAA Division-I during his time in Arlington. He also recruited Artis Gilmore, Pembroke Burrows, Rex Morgan and the rest of that original "Cinderella" squad. The Dolphins were the first team to ever average 100 points per game, and did so in the era before a three-point shot or shot clock.
 
His 92 wins are the fourth-most by a head coach in JU history, and he was inducted into the Jacksonville Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. He returned to campus in 2019 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame again as part of the 1969-70 team that entered the hall as part of its 50th anniversary celebration.
 
"I'll never forget the joy he brought the university and the 1970 team when he came back to Jacksonville in 2019 for the Hall of Fame induction of that incredible team," remarked Ricker-Gilbert. "He hadn't lost his humor and ability to light up a room and captivate an audience."

Williams will be remembered for his audacious white suits in the 1970 NCAA Tournament, as well as his flashy style he enabled the players to play with. The team was allowed to play music at practice and warmups, nearly unheard of back then, and the group found harmony in a time that was full of strife during the Civil Rights Movement. He played a key role in integrating the basketball program at JU and fostering an environment of acceptance when many teams in the country were still segregated.

To learn more about Joe Williams' impact and legacy, please follow the links below.

"How Jacksonville Earned Its Credit Card, by Paul Hemphill" a feature story on the former ESPN journalism site Grantland that ran on March 28, 2012

"Jacksonville Who?", a documentary film by JU alum Frank Pace that looked at the magical run to the 1970 NCAA Championship Final and the important strides in integration made by Jacksonville men's basketball during a turbulent time in the south