Editor's Note: Following is a series of stories about South Alabama SID Matt Smith, who died at age 33 of an apparent heart attack while on a trip with his school's basketball team.
Obituary
Matt Smith, media relations director for the
University of South Alabama, died unexpected Friday morning of an
apparent heart attack in Starkville, Mississippi while traveling with
the USA basketball team. He was 33 years old.
"It is with deep regret I report the loss of Matt," said Joe
Gottfried, USA athletic director. "He was a dedicated member of the
athletic department team and will be sorely missed. He was committed
to the University and had a positive attitude that made working with
him a true pleasure."
Smith had been with USA's athletic department for eight years, where
he oversaw the publicity for all 15 intercollegiate sports programs.
A native of Spanish Fort, Al., Smith graduated from Fairhope High
School and attended Faulkner State Community College, where he served
as baseball manager and sports reporter. He earned a bachelor's
degree in sports journalism from Southeastern Louisiana University in
1996.
Smith was an integral part of Mobile's sports community, lending his
talent to the LPGA AFLAC Tournament of Champions, the Nike Tour
Championship, the Senior Bowl, the Alabama/Mississippi High School
All-Star Classic and the GMAC Senior Bowl. He also served as a part-
time official scorer for the Mobile Bay Bears.
He was a member of the College Sports Information Directors of
America, the Alabama Sports Writers Association and the National
Collegiate Baseball Writers of America. He had worked as a
correspondent for several newspapers throughout the South, including
the Mobile Register, Gulf Coast Newspapers, The Advocate (Baton
Rouge, La.), and the Denham Springs (La.) News.
Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced.
Tribute
By Tommy Hicks
Mobile Register
Matt Smith, athletics media relations director at the
University of South Alabama, died Friday morning of an
apparent heart attack in Starkville, Miss., the
morning after the Jaguars' basketball game against
Mississippi State University. He was 33 years old.
The Spanish Fort native -- who graduated from Fairhope
High School, Faulkner State Community College and
Southeastern Louisiana University -- had served as
South Alabama's athletics media relations director
since being promoted to the post in June 2001. He
joined the department in 1996 as an intern after
graduating from SLU with a degree in sports journalism
that same year. In 1997 he became the school's first
full-time assistant media relations director.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
That's the news story, written the way journalism
students are taught to write such stories -- the
inverted pyramid style, it's called. Get the main news
out first, all the whos, whats, wheres, whens, whys
and hows of the story.
It's the way Matt would have written it.
With that out of the way, here's what you probably
didn't know about Matt Smith, what you should know
about him.
Although shy at the outset and never one to draw
attention to himself, he loved to sing karaoke,
especially country songs. If you traveled with Matt
for a game, you could expect to find yourself in an
establishment that featured such activity if he was
placed in charge of postgame entertainment.
Although professional in his work, demanding no
cheering for any team in the press box or press row --
even for USA -- in his heart Matt cheered like crazy
for the Jags. That's because this wasn't just work for
Matt, it was a joy. South Alabama wasn't just a place
of business, it was home, too. He cared about doing
his job the right way and cared even more about the
people for whom he worked.
Athletics director Joe Gottfried, baseball coach Steve
Kittrell, NCAA compliance director Hal Williams,
senior women's administrator Pam Young, basketball
coaches John Pelphrey and Rick Pietri, athletics
trainer Paul Newman, equipment manager John
Singletary, media relations assistant Kevin Beasley --
they weren't people Matt worked for and with, they
were close friends.
If anyone was born to work in athletics media
relations, it was Matt Smith. He didn't go to work
each day, he went to spend time with his friends, he
went to spend time doing something he loved. To call
it work would almost be considered an insult.
Long hours and tireless work were as common for him as
walking or writing yet another press release. Even
so-called days off were rare for him because he wanted
to make sure everything was covered, that every sport,
regardless of its public profile or perception of
importance, received equal treatment, equal coverage.
Many of you receiving the news of Matt's tragic death
are first learning of him and his duties. That's a
shame, and blame should be aimed here as much as
anywhere else. But that's because he did his job well.
Like umpires in his beloved game of baseball or
referees in basketball, the best ones are the ones you
don't notice at work. They do their work so the
players and coaches can shine.
If you attended any South Alabama sporting event in
recent years, you no doubt saw him there, constantly
moving back and forth behind the scorer's table for
basketball games at the Mitchell Center, making sure
the stats were up to date and keeping reporters
informed of items of interest. At baseball games he
kept the official scorebook for the Jags in the press
box, but could also be seen arranging interviews with
players and coaches afterward. He could also be found,
if you looked closely, at soccer and tennis matches,
golf tournaments, cross country and track meets.
He wasn't just involved with the Jags either. He
helped out at Mobile BayBears games at times, as well
as with the Senior Bowl, Alabama-Mississippi High
School All-Star Game, the Mobile LPGA tournament and
many other events. Again, it was not work taken on for
financial reasons, only for his love of the games.
Matt Smith was everywhere, and by design you never
knew it. Now he's gone, and it's a shame -- as well as
a real loss -- that we didn't introduce you sooner.