Emily Smith
Senior Director / Sport Administration
Emily Smith serves as the Senior Director for Sport Administration after joining the WAC in July of 2025 as the assistant commissioner, sport
administration and championships while also serving as the conference’s Senior
Woman Administrator (SWA).
Smith oversaw all aspects of the WAC related to the management, administration
and operations for Olympic sports and championships, while working as the primary
sport administrator for select Olympic sports. Smith was the conference office liaison to
the WAC Sport Management Committee, comprised of senior administrators from each
member institution who developed and communicated recommendations to member
athletics directors. Smith also collaborated with external constituents, partners and
NCAA committee representatives to implement strategies that continued to enhance
the prestige and competitive positioning of the league.
Smith joined the WAC staff after holding the title of Director, Player
Relations of the Overtime Elite basketball league based in Atlanta. Smith was
responsible for strategizing and streamlining communication efforts for OTE
stakeholders, including players, parents and their representatives. Smith was in charge
of Life Skills off court programming for all OTE athletes, coordinating outside player
development initiatives and opportunities. Smith was also involved in the oversight and
management of recruiting presentations that highlighted academics, basketball and
other aspects of the league for prospective athletes.
Smith arrived at OTE after working at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville,
Tennessee, from 2021-24, most recently holding the title of Senior Associate Athletics
Director of Administration/Chief of Staff. Smith was primarily responsible for oversight of
the day-to-day operations of the Director of Athletics and as a liaison between executive
staff, coaches and student-athletes. Smith had sport oversight of the football, women’s
basketball and spirit programs, overseeing the football scheduling process as part of
sport administration duties. Smith also managed the department’s apparel contract,
coordinated staff town halls, head coaches’ meetings, weekly executive staff meetings
and other staff events on behalf of the director of athletics.
Prior to returning to collegiate athletics at Austin Peay, Smith was a project manager
with the public sector finance team at Verizon Wireless from 2019-21. Smith previously
was the Executive Assistant to the General Manager of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons in
2018-19 after working as the Associate Director of Football Operations at Baylor
University in Waco in 2017-18. Smith’s additional collegiate experience included serving
as a football administrative associate at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw,
Georgia, Recruiting Operations Coordinator at North Carolina State University in Raleigh,
North Carolina, and as Assistant to the Director of Football Operations and Head Coach at
Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.
Smith graduated from Auburn with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and
business. Smith later obtained a Certificate of Supervisory Management from Michigan
State University in East Lansing, Michigan.