Smith Named NAIA Sports Information Director of the Year

General | 9/15/2017 2:30:00 PM

The National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced today that SEU Director of Athletic Communications Donnie Smith has been named the 2017 Sports Information Director of the Year. This honor is presented to one professional in the field of athletic communications based on the accomplishments during the previous year in the areas of sports information, promotion and service to the NAIA.

"This is an extremely humbling honor," said Smith. "It's difficult to be successful without being surrounded by great co-workers, coaches and administrators. I'm blessed to be able to work with an incredibly hard-working staff, a dedicated group of coaches, and a supportive administration. This is a team award that wouldn't be possible without the work and support of everyone."

Smith came to Southeastern with a resume that was already impressive.  In 2014, he received the Marv Bates Indiana Sportscaster of the Year Award from the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, becoming the youngest recipient in the award's 43-year history. Since arriving on campus in 2013-14, he has added live streaming for every home contest, a weekly studio show and one-on-one interviews with student-athletes and coaches, as well as landing SEU in the NAIA's Top-10 for social media growth for three of the past four years.

"Donnie is one of the most dedicated and hard-working people with whom I have ever had the privilege to work," said SEU Director of Athletics Drew Watson. "Despite entering the sports information field with relatively little experience besides that of his broadcasting career, he picked everything up very quickly and has taken the Sports Information Department to a level never seen before at Southeastern University."  

Smith and his staff represented the Fire in providing media coverage and services for a department that achieved 55 weekly conference awards, 51 All-Conference placements, eight Champions of Character recipients, five Conference Championships, four Conference Players of the Year, two conference Coaches of the Year, and eight All-American placements this year during the 2017-18 year.

Smith also serves as Sports Information Director for The Sun Conference, providing coverage for the league's Volleyball, Men's Golf and Baseball programs. He helped to host three Sun Conference Championships in 2016-17, acted as the Media Coordinator for the 2016 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship and as the Official Scorer at the 2017 NAIA Softball World Series. Additionally, Donnie is an At-Large member of the NAIA-SIDA board, serving as liason to the Branding Committee.