Photo used courtesy of Jim Agnew.
Jimmye Laycock and Samantha Huge
Head Coach Jimmye Laycock and new Athletic Director Samantha Huge in the lobby of the Laycock Football Center.
Trey Henderson has seen a lot in his 12 years on the coaching staff of William & Mary’s football team, but he was nevertheless pleasantly surprised earlier this year by a certain tweet. After Tribe football staff shared news about their program on Twitter, Henderson quickly noticed who retweeted it: the new director of William & Mary’s athletic department.
That simple, modern gesture represents a new dawn in Tribe Athletics, one that is bringing fresh vigor to the school’s historic traditions of academic and athletic talent.
In May, Samantha Huge took the reins as William & Mary’s athletic director, succeeding Terry Driscoll, the iconic and well-regarded figurehead who led Tribe Athletics for 21 years. Driscoll’s legacy looms large, but Huge is already making her own positive imprint. Huge relishes opportunities to increase encounters between locals and William & Mary athletes, knowing firsthand that the combined influences of Williamsburg’s culture and sport have the power to leave a lasting, loving impression.
Huge grew up in Northern Virginia and has vivid memories of coming to Colonial Williamsburg as a young girl. Her ties to this town deepened when her brother played football at William & Mary.
“My first experience with college athletics was here,” said Huge. “I was an 11-year-old watching football in the stands of what’s now Zable Stadium.”
Huge’s return to Williamsburg earlier this year completed a full circle. She built an impressive résumé in the intervening years, playing college basketball for Gordon College, earning a law degree and holding prominent positions in collegiate athletics around the country. Now that Huge has settled into her job at William & Mary, she is wasting little time pursuing passionate promotion of Tribe Athletics.
“My vision is to reach across Boundary Street,” she said. “I want to use modern innovations to build on all of William & Mary’s traditions. “
Social media is one way she aims to support William & Mary’s 23 teams, but that’s just one part of a larger thrust. Huge said that Tribe Athletics is soliciting feedback from the community through various channels and will use that information to open fans’ access to the teams competing in their own backyard.
That local support is a shot in the arm for student athletes, according to Julie Leach, a Williamsburg resident who played women’s basketball at William & Mary from 1995 to 1999.
“When we played, we’d have everyone from young girls to retirees come to see us,” Leach said. “We loved that local support.”
Leach and her husband Mike, who played football at William & Mary before a career in the NFL, are ardent Tribe athletic boosters who often bring along their kids, ages 9 and 11.
Leach served on the athletic director’s search committee and is confident that Huge will expand enthusiasm for Tribe Athletics. “I think Samantha has some great ideas for how to bring more people into the William & Mary athletic family,” she said.
The coaching staff sees promise in Huge’s directorship, too. William & Mary alumnus Matt Crispino is head coach of the Tribe’s men’s and women’s swimming teams. Crispino said that Huge’s optimism is uplifting for the coaches, who pass that inspiration on to the student athletes.
“Her personality makes us work harder,” said Crispino. “We’re all here because we’re competitive, and she wants us not to be afraid to let out that competitive spirit.”
Huge’s ambition is grounded in that fearless advocacy for a first-rate program. Using local support as a solid foundation, her ultimate goal is to lead William & Mary’s athletic department to new heights.