Former South Carolina State athletics director, Dr. Willis C. Ham, is among eight athletics administrators to be inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame Tuesday (Jun. 10) during the group’s 43rd annual convention at the Hilton Anatole Hotel.
Ham will become the second SC State AD to be enshrined in the prestigious hall, joining the late Dr. Milton D. Hunter, who was inducted in 1991.
Also in the 2008 Class are former Ads Frank Broyles of Arkansas, Jake Crouthamel of Syracuse, Joe Etzel of Portland, Christine Grant of Iowa, Ted Leland of Stanford, William Moore of Central Connecticut State, and Ron Warnock of De Anza College.
Today, Willis Ham is the owner of Professional Success Services, a company whose specialty is designing customized speeches and training activities to improve delivery potential of individuals and groups within their organization’s structure.
But, before going on to a distinguished career in state government and founding his own company, Dr. Ham established a great legacy at South Carolina State University as both a student-athlete and administrator.
Dr. Ham became the first full-time Director of Athletics at SC State in 1980. He served in the position until 1990. The decade in which he was at the helm of the Bulldog athletics program was one of the most productive in the school’s history.
During his tenure (1980-90) as athletics director at his alma mater, the school captured forty-three (43) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships, won five (5) national titles, and made two post-season appearances.
With Ham at the helm of its athletics program, SC State also earned twenty (20) Coach of the Year honors, produced over forty (40) All-Americans and had over twenty (20) student-athletes to sign professional contracts.
During his student days at SC State, Dr. Ham was named Freshman of the Year (1965-66) in both football and baseball and captained both teams in 1967-68. As a senior (1968-69), he was named Athlete of the Year at the university, while earning All-Conference, All-District and All-State honors in football. He was also All-Conference in baseball.
Following his senior year, he declined a contract to play professional football for the Cincinnati Bengals and, instead, signed to play professional baseball for the Cincinnati Reds.
Dr. Ham earned both a bachelor’s (1969) and master’s (1973) at South Carolina State, and a doctorate from Florida State (1975).
The North Charleston, SC native spent two seasons (1975 and 1976) as an assistant football coach at Fayetteville State University. Four years later, he returned to his alma mater as Director of Athletics.
In 1998, Dr. Ham was named to the SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame, and in November of 2007, was honored as a member of the university’s Centennial Football Team (1907-2007).