Longtime Western Kentucky women's basketball radio play-by-play announcer Barry Williams announced his retirement Friday after 33 seasons of calling the Lady Toppers. (Matt Lunsford/WKU Athletics)

Longtime Western Kentucky women’s basketball play-by-play announcer Barry Williams has announced his retirement after 33 seasons with the program, a tenure that saw WKU reach lofty heights with three Final Four appearances and a national championship game appearance in 1992.

Williams, among the longest-tenured radio announcers in the nation for women’s basketball, called his 1,000th career game in a 96-32 victory over Alabama A&M in the 2016-17 season opener. Before WKU’s game against Indiana on Nov. 19, Williams was honored in a ceremony recognizing his achievements.

Among the WKU highlights of Williams’ career are 12 conference tournament championships, 19 NCAA Tournament appearances, the lone 30-win season (2014-15) in either men’s or women’s basketball in WKU history and Lillie Mason’s legendary last-second shot to defeat Texas at E.A. Diddle Arena in the 1985 NCAA Tournament. In Williams’ 33 seasons with the team, the Lady Toppers posted a 755-314 (70.6 percent) record on the court.

Overall, the Lady Toppers won 20 or more games in 26 of Williams’ 33 seasons, including each of the last five seasons under head coach Michelle Clark-Heard. For the first time in program history, the Lady Toppers have posted three straight 27-win seasons in their three most recent campaigns.

During his time with WKU, Williams interviewed countless Lady Topper legends, including former head coach Paul Sanderford and All-Americans Clemette Haskins, Crystal Kelly, Alexis Govan, Chastity Gooch and Kendall Noble. In total, WKU had 14 players recognized as All-Americans by various organizations during Williams’ tenure.

Not only known for his in-game work, Williams was also the longtime host of WKU’s weekly coach’s show throughout the season hosted by local establishments in Bowling Green and the surrounding area.

A nationwide search under the direction of Chris Bloomfield, general manager of Hilltopper IMG Sports Marketing, will begin immediately for Williams’ replacement.{&end}