ADRIAN, Mich. – After more than 42 years representing Siena Heights University Athletics – including the last 36 as athletic director – Fred Smith will be the lone inductee into the SHU Athletic Hall of Fame during Homecoming Weekend 2019.
"The impact that Fred Smith has had on Siena Heights and the community is immeasurable," said SHU President Sister Peg Albert, OP, Ph.D. "His contributions as a coach and administrator are without peer, and he has served as the ultimate ambassador for Siena Heights for so many years. Honoring him with this special Hall of Fame recognition during our 100th anniversary year will be an extraordinary occasion indeed."
The 65-year-old Smith has overseen unprecedented growth in the SHU athletic department. He also helped usher in a new era of cutting-edge sports to campus, including football, bowling, lacrosse, competitive cheer and dance, and most recently, eSports. Siena Heights currently has some of the finest athletic facilities for an institution its size in the Midwest region.
After being named athletic director in 1983, he was instrumental in the formation of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference – of which Siena Heights is a founding member. He was twice named the WHAC Athletic Director of the Year. In fact, the WHAC renamed its all-sports award the Fred Smith All-Sports Trophy for his contributions to the conference.
An Adrian native, Smith was a standout college basketball player in the 1970s. After graduating from Adrian College, he joined the Siena Heights Admissions Office staff, and then the Saints coaching staff in 1977 under then-head basketball coach Ben Braun. Smith also served as a head coach for Siena's golf and cross country programs. When Braun left Siena Heights to accept the head coach position at Eastern Michigan University after the 1984-85 season, Smith took over the Saints' men's basketball program.
His 21-year basketball head coaching career included 527 wins, the most in the institution's history. During his tenure, Siena Heights was one of the winningest small-school programs in the country. The Saints recorded five 30-win seasons, 12 appearances in the NAIA National Tournament and eight WHAC titles. His 1996-97 squad finished as the NAIA Division II national runners-up, losing the title game to Bethel College 95-94.
After being named WHAC Coach of the Year four times, and the NAIA Regional Coach of the Year in 1989, Smith was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2006. He is the only Siena Heights coach or student-athlete to receive the honor.
The 2019 Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet will be 6 p.m. Oct. 12 in the Fieldhouse and will recognize every previous inductee as part of the SHU 100th anniversary and the Hall of Fame 20th anniversary.
