Gary Bruce Williams (born March 4, 1945) is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach.

The Maryland Terrapins, an original member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, announced Williams as its next head coach on June 13, 1989.

However, in March 1990, the NCAA imposed harsh sanctions on the school for several major violations, mostly dating to the Wade era.

However, with the help of Walt Williams, Maryland stayed competitive through a low point of the program's history.

Maryland's teams during this era featured future NBA players such as Joe Smith, Steve Francis, Juan Dixon, Steve Blake, Lonny Baxter, Keith Booth, Terence Morris and Chris Wilcox, and a cast of supportive role players, exemplified by Byron Mouton.

Williams was the first coach to win a national championship without a single McDonald's All American on the roster since its inception.

He became the first coach to direct his alma mater to a national title since Norm Sloan accomplished the feat with North Carolina State in 1974.

[11] On January 26, 2012; Maryland honored Williams by renaming the playing surface at the XFINITY Center "Gary Willams Court.

Williams' NCAA Tournament accomplishments include seven Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights, two Final Fours, and a national championship in 2002.

Williams also leads active coaches with seven wins over top-ranked teams, the most recent coming against North Carolina on January 19, 2008.

On January 21, 2006, a home victory over Virginia Tech earned Williams his 142nd ACC win, moving him into a tie with former Carolina head coach Frank McGuire for third place in that category.

On February 7, 2006, a 76–65 home victory over Virginia gave Williams his 349th win, allowing him to pass Lefty Driesell as the university's all-time winningest head coach.

In ACC history, Williams stands alongside Smith and Krzyzewski as the only coaches to amass this number of wins.

Two days later, Williams engineered a comeback in the final seconds of the second-round game against Michigan State, only to lose to a buzzer beater shot by Korie Lucious.

[20] Williams suffers from hyperhidrosis, and has devoted his time to raising awareness of the ailment and advocating for greater research efforts to find treatments.

On defense, he favors a highly physical, pressing and trapping style, using turnovers to key the offense through the fast break.

Williams gained a reputation as a recruiter who almost exclusively went after less-heralded players and develops them into Division I talents.

An opposing coach, Dave Odom, once said in a newspaper interview that Williams "has made a living off of the player who is maybe one or two tools short of the complete package (say, height or leaping ability), but who competes hard and plays with a chip on his shoulder."

[22] The three-part feature analyzed Williams' recruiting process, and noted how local prep basketball talent went elsewhere for college.

It cited that Williams refused to associate closely with local AAU basketball program directors and coaches, due to their questionable reputations.