Report: Cal to name Mike Williams AD

Mike Williams, who has served as Cal's interim athletic director for the last 10 months, is expected to be named to the job permanently, according to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle.

The time frame for an official announcement was not immediately clear, but should come soon according to campus spokesman Dan Mogulof.

"When the Chancellor [Nicholas Dirks] launched the search for the next Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at UC Berkeley, he committed to selecting a candidate 'by the middle of the spring,' " Mogulof said in a statement. "That time has arrived and the University is indeed very close to making an announcement. However, a few details remain and those involved are doing what is necessary to complete the hiring process. In the meantime, our Athletics program is and will remain in excellent hands."

Williams was announced as a temporary replacement for Sandy Barbour on June 26, 2014 and has served in that capacity since July 15. Barbour, who was hired in 2004, was re-assigned within the athletic department, but left to become the athletic director at Penn State a couple weeks later.

When Williams, a 1982 Cal graduate and former wrestler, was hired, it was made clear the school would take its time before making a full-time hire. One of Williams' initial responsibilities was to conduct a top-to-bottom assessment of the department to help identify what the school would need from the eventual replacement.

However, in February, Williams told the Bay Area News Group that after doing the job for several months, he was interested in remaining in it permanently.

On the surface, the hire appears to be a good sign for Cal football coach Sonny Dykes, who said last week he has "enjoyed working with [Williams]. It's been good."

Dykes called the relationship between a football coach and athletic director "unbelievably important," but was only marginally involved in the search process.