CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Former Gardner-Webb football linebacker Mario Williams has been inducted into the Big South Conference Athletic Hall of Fame as announced by the league on Thursday, May 2. Along with Williams, other inductees included track and field athlete Octavia Goode of Winthrop and former baseball player Phil Leftwich of Radford.
"We are so happy for Mario [Williams], who is most deserving of this incredible honor and lifetime accomplishment", said Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Andrew T. Goodrich. "He is truly one of the all-time Runnin' Bulldog greats."
One of the most heralded safeties to play in Spangler Stadium, Williams' Hall of Fame career was one for the record books. A former prep quarterback, Williams earned his reputation as a hard-hitting safety very early in Boiling Springs. He emerged as a star in 2002, earning Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors and Division I-AA All-America honors after leading Gardner-Webb to a 9-1 record and a final top 20 national ranking.
Williams followed that campaign up with a better one, repeating as Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year, the first-ever back-to-back winner, while earning another round of Division I-AA All-America accolades. His senior season was cut short by injury, but Williams still earned All-Big South Conference honors for the third consecutive season.
During is All-American season of 2003, Williams made 118 stops, including a record at the time of 70 solo tackles, with 7.0 tackles for loss, 15 pass break-ups, five forced fumbles, and 18 passes defended, with the latter two being second most all-time.
Williams set the single-game record for total tackles with 22 against Savannah State on Nov. 16, 2002, now the third-highest single-game total in league history. He also remains the Big South record-holder for tackles per game (11.07), forced fumbles/recoveries (7), second-most forced fumbles (8), and ranks 4th all-time with 30 pass break-ups and tied for 3rd with 38 passes defended.
With the help of Williams as an anchor of a stingy defense, the Runnin' Bulldogs were able to capture their first two Big South football championships in 2002 and 2003.
Williams was named an All-American by The Sports Network and Associated Press following the 2002 and 2003 seasons and was a candidate for the FCS Buck Buchanan Award for National Defensive Player of the Year in 2004.
Other accolades included College Sporting News Weekly All-Star on Sept. 5, 2004, as well a 9-time recipient of Big South Defensive Player of the Week. In the inaugural season of the Big South, Williams led the league with 120 tackles, an average of 12.0 per contest while adding three interceptions for 47 yards and a touchdown.
At the conclusion of his career, Williams totaled 326 career tackles – which remains the top total in program history for a defensive back. He also broke up 35 passes – including a career-high 15 in 2003 – which is the top career mark in Gardner-Webb history. Williams went on to enjoy a successful professional career in Germany, beginning in NFL Europe with the Frankfurt Galaxy.
The Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled for Thursday evening, May 29, as part of the Big South's annual spring meetings at the Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of Palms, S.C. In the event honorees cannot attend in-person, their enshrinement will be part of the 2026 Hall of Fame festivities.
The Big South Hall of Fame, created in 2003 as part of the League's 20th Anniversary celebration, now totals 87 former Big South Conference student-athletes, coaches, administrators and contributors with the addition of the new honorees.
