Smith to step down after 26 years

Chadron State College’s athletic director Brad Smith, announced his retirement Tuesday after being on CSC’s athletic staff for 26 years.

“Being an athletic director and helping coach football leaves very few weekends free and little free time,” Smith said Wednesday. “I have a family and grandkids I need to spend time with now.”

Smith started his CSC career as its football coach and athletic director in March of 1987. He coached the college’s football team from 1987 to 2004. Before coaching football for Chadron State, he was a high school football coach and was an assistant coach at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill. All of that experience helped lead the Eagles to a 136-win and 57-loss record during his 17 years coaching.

President Randy Rhine spoke positively about Smith’s time here at CSC.

“Brad’s done an extraordinary job for the college,” Rhine said Wednesday. “He recently has done a lot of fundraising for the renovation of the Armstrong building and had a lot of success with that.”

Rhine also praised Smith’s 2012 involvement with the selection of former football coach Bill O’Boyle’s replacement.

“He was also involved in the search for a new head football coach last year, which ended up in the hiring of Jay Long, who has done a extraordinary job with the football program,” Rhine said.

Like any employee’s, Smith’s career had its high and low points. Although he racked up multiple accolades during his tenure, the NCAA criticized him in its 2013 report, stemming from football fundraising violations occurring under his leadership as early as 2007.

In the college’s Dec. 21, 2012 report, compiled by Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP in cooperation with NCAA officials, and submitted to the Nebraska State College System’s Board of Trustees, Smith failed in several of his responsibilities as athletics director.

“Specifically, athletic director Smith should have asked questions about what was being done with the funds raised by the LCG tournament and how O’Boyle was financing off-campus trips,” the report states. “If Smith had been monitoring the C Club account and football program’s involvement with concession sales, he would have ensured that the C Club account was closed and that all concession receipts and expenditures were run through the Foundation.”

In response, Rhine filed a written reprimand to Smith for his lack of oversight.

The NCAA postponed CSC’s original Feb. 22 hearing before its Committee on Infractions. As of Wednesday, the NCAA has not rescheduled the hearing, NSCS General Counsel Kristin Petersen stated.

Rhine said he did not know how Smith’s actions would influence any possible NCAA sanctions.

“It’s all speculation right now,” Rhine said Wednesday. “No one knows what the NCAA will decide, but we hope to have the hearing soon.”

Smith said he had been considering retirement “for some time” and that his decision was not influenced by the NCAA investigation. Smith also said that, regardless of his employment status, he would attend the upcoming NCAA hearing.

“I will still be present for the hearing whether someone is found or not,” Smith said Wednesday.

The search for a new replacement is just beginning, Rhine said. “We have not decided how to conduct the search yet, but the committee set up for that will be getting to work shortly,” Rhine said.

“I want to make sure the transition is smooth for the new replacement,” Smith said.