College Sports Information Directors of America

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Donnie Smith – Southeastern University, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications

Rising Star Award – College Division

by Tommy Chasanoff, University of the Cumberlands Assistant AD/Sports Information

It’s hard to look around the coverage of college division schools without noticing the Southeastern Fire.  Whether it’s the fire that blasts out the scoreboard during football games, or their athletic teams having comprehensive national success, the man behind the scenes who’s been an integral part of their rising to national prominence is the 2022-23 College Sports Communicators College Division Rising Star Award recipient, Donnie Smith. 

“I want to send a thank you to the Special Awards Committee for considering me for this honor. To me, these awards are never about one person. I've been incredibly blessed to work with and learn from some incredible people in my career,” said Smith. “Our team this year of Sam Holcomb, Jaahayr James, and Billy Adams has made my job really easy and have created the margin for me to be involved with CSC and NAIA-SIDA.”

Smith has just completed his 10th year as the Assistant Athletic Director for Communications at Southeastern and has already left a lasting impression on Fire athletics and throughout the NAIA.  Under his guidance, social media presence and impact of Southeastern has grown exponentially, with multiple teams making deep postseason runs in their respective NAIA national championships.
 

Smith has already etched his named in the record books as he was voted the NAIA Sports Information Director of the Year in both 2017 and 2018, making him the first repeat winner of this award. It’s no wonder that his is just the third NAIA SID to garner the Rising Star Award. (Editor’s note: Smith and author Tommy Chasanoff are the CSC’s college division Rising Star honorees).

“I'm really excited to share this honor with Tommy, who I've had a chance to work with during his time in The Sun Conference and with NAIA-SIDA. We've had a chance to bounce some ideas back and forth quite a bit and has become one of my best friends in this business and is well-deserving of this honor,” Smith noted.

Smith’s influence and impact goes way beyond the Sunshine State as Smith is heavily involved at the national level. Since beginning in the athletic communications profession nearly a decade ago, Donnie has worked seven NAIA Football National Championships games, served as the media coordinator for the 2016 NAIA Men’s Soccer Championship as well as the 2019 Tennis Championships, and has been the official scorer for two NAIA Softball World Series.

“Even though he has only been in the profession for about a decade, Donnie has the wit and wisdom of a veteran beyond his years,” commented Jay Stancil, assistant commissioner of the Appalachian Athletic Conference.  “His even-keel manner allows him to handle any situation with true professionalism that has quickly made him one of the best SIDs in the business today.”

Since 2017, Smith has served on the NAIA-SIDA board, including being the first vice president for the past four years. He will be handed the gavel next week during the NAIA Divisional Day of the CSC Convention. Smith has also served on both the NAIA National Administrative Council during the 2022-23 school year and the CSC Executive Board of Directors as the college division representative. Last week, Smith was voted and approved for another term on the CSC Board. 

Prior to joining the Fire, Smith spent 10 years at the Regional Radio Sports Network in Mishawaka, Ind. as a sportscaster. In 2014, Smith made history becoming the youngest recipient of the Marv Bates Indiana Sportscaster of the Year Award.

Anyone that knows Donnie, know that his is a star in the profession and will continue to serve as a leader, mentor, and friend for all who gets the privilege of crossing his path.