MEAC RELEASE

Andrea Gardner-Williams has been inducted into the 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.  Gardner-Williams was a standout athlete at Howard University from 1999 until 2002.  She was named the MEAC Rookie of the Year in 1999-2000 and she went on to be named the MEAC Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002.  In 2001, she led the entire nation in rebounding with 14.2 per game while she led the Lady Bison to the NCAA Tournament that season.

Gardner-Williams scored over 1,000 points and grabbed over 1,000 rebounds during her three-year career.
           
"This is truly a great honor for me," said Gardner-Williams.  "I never imagined when I started playing this sport at the age of 10 that I would reach this level.  I am just honored and humbled by this honor.  I am grateful to Howard University, Coach Sanya Tyler, Jeff Williams and Coach Linda Spencer for giving me an opportunity."

Gardner-Williams has an important place in history.  Declared a Proposition 48 casualty during her freshman year, Gardner was one of seven student athletes who filed a lawsuit contesting the policy on the basis that it discriminates against minorities in college athletics. The group won the suit and changed the landscape of intercollegiate athletics forever. She went on to graduate in four years, receiving her degree in exercise physiology from Howard University.

Gardner-Williams was invited to the USA Junior National Team camp and later became only one of two players (the other is Denique Graves, also from Howard) from HBCU drafted in WNBA history. She was drafted in the second round by the Utah Starzz (now the San Antonio Silver Stars).  She went on to play for the Washington Mystics and later internationally in 10 different countries including Greece, Spain, France and Italy.

Gardner-Williams went on to coach professionally in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and collegiately at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, MD.

Gardner-Williams started an organization, In My Backyard Corporation in the Washington, DC metropolitan area that's hosts Annual Christmas parties for underprivileged youth and she also hosts the annual Andrea Gardner-Williams Basketball and Life Skills camp.
           
Gardner-Williams received an additional award when she was honored by the US Marines for her organization, In My Backyard Corporation, and the work that she does with inner city youth.

Gardner-Williams currently serves as a math instructor and women's basketball coach at the Woodland Job Corps Center in Laurel, MD.