Smith, who served Virginia Tech for 40 years, was honored by CoSIDA in 2001 with a 25-Year Award and 2015 with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Story courtesy hokiesports.com
Five All-Americans and a former longtime administrator comprise the 2019 Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame class, as announced Sunday by the Virginia Tech Athletics Department.
The 2019 class of inductees includes:
Tasmin Fanning, a four-time All-American in track and field and cross country whose third-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships remains the best finish in program history;
Brandon Flowers, a two-time All-America defensive back who helped the Hokies win the 2007 ACC title and who still ranks among the school's leaders in career interceptions;
Matt Griswold, a baseball All-American and a three-time all-conference player who helped the Hokies to two Atlantic 10 team championships during his career in the late 1990s;
Dave Smith, a former sports information director who worked 40 years at the school, helping to promote the accomplishments of some of the school's greatest coaches and student-athletes;
Brian Walter, a three-time All-Metro Conference selection and an All-American in cross country; and
Drew Weaver, a men's golf All-American in 2009 whose biggest career accomplishment came when he won the British Amateur in 2007.
The six new honorees will be inducted at Hall of Fame dinner held at the Inn at Virginia Tech on Sept. 6, the evening before the Virginia Tech football team takes on Old Dominion. The new inductees will be introduced to fans at halftime of the Virginia Tech-ODU game. The new inductees will bring the total number enshrined to 204. The Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame, which is located at the south end of the Cassell Coliseum ambulatory, was established in 1982.
Dave Smith, a native of Roanoke, Virginia, worked in the athletics communications office at Virginia Tech for 40 years, starting out as an assistant sports information director and working his way up the ranks to the position of associate athletics director.
Smith, who started his career as a sports information director at Ferrum College, began working at his alma mater (Virginia Tech) in 1975 working with both the men's basketball and baseball programs and never left. As the basketball contact, he handled game notes, game recaps and interview requests and helped with the promotion of some of the sport's greatest student-athletes, including Dell Curry and Bimbo Coles.
He wound up working with the baseball team for more than 30 years, with most of that stint coinciding with National Hall of Fame coach Chuck Hartman's tenure and also some of that program's greatest student-athletes, including Franklin Stubbs, Mike Williams, Brad Clontz and Joe Saunders.
Smith became the football communications contact in 1998 and handled all the interviews of another legendary coach – Frank Beamer. He also helped promote specific players, including the overseeing of a Michael Vick Heisman Trophy campaign in 1999 that played a role in Vick finishing third in the Heisman race that year.
Smith also played an integral role with the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame, serving as a liaison between the athletics department and the selection committee.
Following Smith's retirement in 2015, the College of Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) named Smith the recipient of a CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the profession. He also received the Distinguished Service Award from the Virginia Sports Information Director (VaSID) group for the promotion of college athletics and for working in the industry for a minimum of 20 years.
Smith accomplished one of the rarest feats during his career – he earned the respect of those who worked in athletics administration, players and coaches, while also garnering the respect of the media for his professionalism.
Smith continues to live in Blacksburg and serves as the athletics department's de facto historian. He and his wife spend their free time coming to Tech games, taking trips to Hilton Head and attending concerts of their favorite musicians.