Brad Smith
Chadron State College
Director of Athletics

August 2005 -- Brad Smith won respect as one of the best in his field while serving as the head football coach and athletic director at Chadron State College the past 18 years. Although he still greatly enjoyed coaching football, he stepped down as the head coach last December because he felt his full attention was needed in the athletic director’s position. His replacement as head coach, Bill O’Boyle, said he is grateful that Smith is still available to provide counsel to the football staff.

With more time now available to concentrate on the college’s total athletic picture, Smith hopes he can help all the teams become consistent conference contenders. Long-range plans include replacing the Armstrong Gymnasium as Chadron State’s primary athletic facility.

Under Smith’s guidance, the Chadron State football team was a perennial contender in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and was ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams eight times—twice while the Eagles were an NAIA member and six times in NCAA Division II.

Only Smith’s first team at Chadron State did not have at least a .500 record, and all of his last 11 teams won at least seven games. Entering the 2004 season, Smith was one of only 13 active NCAA Division II coaches to have won 125 games. His winning percentage of .704 ranked seventh in Division II among coaches whose teams had played at least 150 games.

In the fall of 1995 Smith became the college’s winningest football coach. His collegiate career record, all at CSC, is 133-56-1. He earned RMAC coach of the year honors in 1996 and 2001 and shared it in 1999.

The 2001 season was perhaps Smith’s most successful. The Eagles had a 10-0 regular season record, and were ranked No. 7 in the final American Football Coaches Association poll. The 2002 and 2003 teams both went 8-2 and were No. 20 and 23, respectively, in the final AFCA polls.

During the last 11 years, the Eagles have been 92-26, giving them by far the most victories for that time period in the college’s history. Smith’s teams won the RMAC championship in 1996 and 2001 and shared the title in ‘98, ‘99 and ’02. The 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2001 teams advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Smith had to rebuild the CSC football team from the ground up. He inherited just 21 lettermen in March 1987. His first team was just 1-8. Two years later, the Eagles were 8-1 during the regular season. The next year they went 9-1. Both of those teams reached the NAIA Division II playoffs and were ranked among the nation’s top 10.

The 1992 season was another good one as the Eagles officially went 7-3 and also beat the University of Mexico in an exhibition game. The 1994 team was 9-2 and became just the third in school history to win nine games. The ‘95 team went 8-2, and Smith was chosen the Nebraska NCAA II coach of the year by the Omaha World-Herald that fall.

In 1996, the Eagles won 10 games, captured the RMAC championship and reached the NCAA Division II playoffs, all for the first time. The next year, CSC was 8-3 with two of the losses by 16-14 scores. In 1998, the Eagles were 9-3 with two of the setbacks by two and three points. The ’99 team was 7-3 and shared the RMAC title. In 2000, the Eagles were 8-3 and reached the playoffs again. Then came the banner season in 2001, followed by three more excellent seasons.

Take away Smith’s first season and his record at CSC is 132-48-1, a winning percentage of .733.

Prior to returning to Chadron State, Smith had served six years as an assistant at his undergraduate alma mater, Western Illinois University at Macomb. He also spent seven years coaching high school football.

A native of Sycamore, Ill., Smith was an all-state high school football player as well as a basketball and track standout. He started three years at cornerback at Western Illinois, helping the Leathernecks to a cumulative record of 23-7. As a senior, he was named to the Illinois collegiate all-state team by the Peoria Journal Star.

When one of the Western Illinois assistants, Glenn Brady, became the head coach at Chadron State in 1972, Smith came along as an assistant and to work on his master’s degree, which he earned in 1973. The following year when Brady became head football coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Smith went as the secondary coach. A year later, Smith returned to western Nebraska as the head football coach at Alliance High School, where he spent three years.

He also was the head football coach four years at William Horlick High School in Racine, Wis., where his teams won three conference championships. His overall high school coaching record is 34-28-1.

His duties at Western Illinois included coaching the secondary, passing game coordinator and recruiting coordinator. He had been promoted to defensive coordinator shortly before accepting the Chadron State job.

The coach’s wife, Pam, is a native of Jerseyville, Ill. They met at WIU, where she was a speech, drama and English major. She earned her master’s degree at CSC.

The Smiths have three children. Kara and her husband, Tim DeHart, met while both were students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They live in Bessemer, Ala., a Birmingham suburb. Both boys were outstanding all-around athletes at Chadron High. Ben played on some outstanding football teams at Purdue, where he graduated in 2001. He and his wife, the former Tarrah Bender, live in Carmel, Ind. Micah is a student at Chadron State and a wide receiver on the football team.