PRINCESS ANNE, Md.--UMES basketball celebrates the formal start of preseason practice Friday, Oct. 16 with traditional Hawk Hysteria festivities, but first will pause to honor a hoops legend and loyal alum.

Season-ticket holder Jesse Williams, a standout on Maryland State College teams of the late '50s and early 1960s, will be attending home games this season to watch basketball played on hardwood that bears his name.

The university is naming the playing surface in the Hytche Athletic Center the "Jesse T. Williams Sr. Court."

"I cannot think of a more fitting honor for a gentlemen who has meant so much to this university over his lifetime," UMES President Juliette Bell said.

"Mr. Williams could easily be called one of the cornerstones of the foundation that our athletics programs are built on," added Keith Davidson, UMES' athletics director. "I point to him as an example of what this university can do for young people, and how they, in turn, can give back."

"Giving back" could easily be Williams' unofficial nickname. In public remarks he has delivered over the years at or on behalf of his alma mater, he consistently incorporates that message.

Williams came to Princess Anne from Philadelphia in 1958 to play basketball. He's comfortable sharing how he stepped off a bus with little more than a suitcase filled with a modest amount of clothes - and a burning desire to get a college education.

Williams met his wife, Vernetta, at UMES in 1959 and went on to a successful career with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., where he rose through the senior management ranks, including Vice President of Human Resources Policy, Employment Practices and Systems, before retiring in 1998.

He returned to Delmarva and served as the first chairman of his alma mater's newly constituted advisory panel, the Board of Visitors. He held that position from 1997 to 2014 and now holds the title of chairman emeritus.

He proudly embraces his 6-foot 8-inch stature, which in the eyes of many alumni and admirers makes him a towering figure in the university's history.

Playing center, Williams became a presence in the paint for the Hawks under Nate Taylor, the all-time winningest coach during the Maryland State-UMES era.

Alongside frontcourt greats like Trent Harris and Wilbur Smith, Williams helped pace the Hawks to a 70-27 record during his playing days, earning the right to play in the NAIA National Tournament in the 1959-60 season. He averaged 8.2 points per game and finished with 251 rebounds that year. He was inducted into the UMES Hall of Fame in 2004.

He is a staunch supporter of UMES athletics, helping as a fundraiser for several facility upgrades, including locker room renovations and organizing the formation of the Thunderin' Hawks Pep Band. In 2009 the university created the Jesse T. Williams Homecoming Hawk Award. Known for his fiery spirit and hustle on and off the court when he played collegiately, the award is given each year to the male and female student-athlete who most exemplifies his spirit in the annual Homecoming Game.

He and his wife also support several academic scholarship funds as well as student and faculty development programs.

Williams is an active congregant in the Cornerstone Fellowship Baptist Church and is a lifetime member of the NAACP, Phi Beta Sigma and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities.