Richard Williams

Teams coached: Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State record: 191-163 (.540)
Overall record: 191-163 (.540)

Richard Williams
Born August 22, 1945
Hometown: Pearl, Mississippi
Alma Mater: Mississippi State University (BA, 1967)
After graduating from MSU, Williams spend many years coaching at the HS and JUCO levels before getting the opportunity to come back to State as an assistant under Bob Boyd
Took over the program as head coach in 1986, a job he would hold for the next twelve seasons
- Won three SEC regular season titles, one SEC Tournament and went to the NIT twice and NCAA Tournament three times
- Crowning achievement came during the 1995-96 season, when the Bulldogs finished first in the SEC West and ended up making a run to the NCAA Final Four as a 5-seed
After some time away from coaching, Williams had brief stints in the ABA and WBA
- Spent one year coaching his alma mater, Pearl HS, back home in Mississippi
Returned to the college ranks in 2008 as DBO at UAB under head coach Mike Davis; also had a brief stint as a volunteer DBO for Kerry Rupp at Louisiana Tech in 2009
Final coaching position was as an assistant at Arkansas State under John Brady, one of his former assistants at MSU
Retired from coaching in 2014 and embarked on a career in media as a radio commentator for MSU basketball games
Came out of retirement in October 2020 to spend one season as a special assistant for Jay Ladner at Southern Miss
Along with his wife, Diane, has one son and one daughter