B. Keith Smith, Assistant Director of Athletics/Comm. and Ext. Ops
(954) 262-8261
Keith.Smith@nova.edu
B. Keith Smith enters his first year at Nova Southeastern University as the Assistant Athletic Director for Communications and External Operations bringing over 10 years of collegiate athletic work experience to the Shark's athletic department. Smith oversees the day-to-day functions of the NSU sports information office, game day operations and facilities working in conjunction with NSU facilities management and the University Center Arena management group, SMG. Prior to NSU, Smith spent seven years as a member of the Barry University SID staff as the Assistant Director of Sports Information. He was primarily responsible for the writing, designing, and editing of all athletic publications and managed the operations of home events, independent contractor payroll and vendor relationships. In addition, Smith assisted with the development of the ICA website, the sports banquet video, annual report and other special event projects. While at Barry, Smith was the primary contact for men's basketball, volleyball, softball, and men's and women's golf and rowing.
Smith entered his career of collegiate sports in 1998 as the Director of Athletic Media Relations at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn. While there, he was responsible for all media relation efforts and supervision of staff, increasing the department size from one to five positions in one fiscal year. Smith then served as the Director of Sports Information at Christian Brothers University in Memphis from 1999-2001 where his main efforts were in re-establishing media relationships, boasting a 25 percent coverage increase in a year's time.
Smith earned a B.S. in communications with an emphasis in public relations and a minor in business administration from Mississippi College in 1996, where he also played four years of NCAA Division II football. There, he served as the sports editor of the school's newspaper, the Mississippi Collegian (1995-97). Smith also put his degree to work as a DJ, public service announcement director, and production assistant at the school's privately owned radio station, WHJT/WSLI (1995-97).
Smith is a member of several professional associations including Toastmasters (public speaking and leadership organization), the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics), AFP (Association of Financial Professionals) and FMA (Financial Management Association). Named the AVCA Grant Burger Media South Region SID of the Year in 2004, Smith served as the regional coordinator of the Daktronics, Inc., Division II Volleyball All-America Selection Committee from 2001-03 and was the national chair from 2004-07.
Smith served as the media coordinator for 2002 NCAA Division II Softball South Regional Tournament, the statistical coordinator for 2003 NCAA Division II Softball South Regional Tournament, and the official statistician for 2004 NCAA Division II Volleyball National Championship. In addition, he has served on the CoSIDA NCAA Legislation Committee (2005-06), CoSIDA Job Seekers Committee (2002-04 & 2000-01) and CoSIDA Charity Committee (2001-02). Smith has also worked independently as a media relations assistant with the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Memphis Mercury women's semi-pro soccer team and member of the W-League and the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in Memphis, Tenn. In 2007, he was inducted in the FMA International Honor Society.
Currently, Smith is nearing the completion of a dual-degree graduate program at Barry University and will earn an MBA with a specialization in Finance, and a Master's of Science in Sport Management in the spring of 2009. He is married to Cristina Smith of Miami, Fla. and the couple resides in Davie, Fla.
