Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1998
One of Cal Poly's all-time greatest track and field athletes, Bart Williams, was a member of the school's record-breaking 400-meter and 1,600-meter relay teams. A four-time All-American in the 400-meter hurdles, his time of 49.32 in 1979 was the ninth best in the world at the time and set an NCAA Division II record. Bart was a member of the Cal Poly track and field team from 1976-1979.
Bart was also a member of the 1979 Pan-American team and the 1979 World University team. He later earned a spot on the 1980 Olympic team in the 400-meter hurdles but did not compete due to the U.S. boycott of the Olympic games in Moscow. In 1978, Bart captured first place in the 200 and 400 meters at the CCAA Championship, establishing new conference records for both events in the meet. During his career, he was a conference champion eight times and All-American nine times. In 1984 Bart finished sixth in the Olympic finals in the 400-meter hurdles.
Williams is a member of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division II Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame. He represented the U.S. in 10 international competitions and was a recipient of the 2005 Distinguished alumnus Cal Poly Track & Field Award and California State Assembly Resolution Award For Outstanding Athlete in 1979.
Bart was track and field coach at Vallejo High School, where he competed in football, baseball and track in the mid-1970s, and Contra Costa College. He also coached track at Benicia, Bethel and Rodriguez high schools. Williams was inducted into the Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame in March 2014.
In 2001 he was the USA National Team Men's Assistant Coach for the World University Games in Beijing, China. He and his wife Karen have two children.
