Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame
Like Scott Ritzen, Brad Smith came to Chadron State in 1987, when he was appointed head football coach. Within a few months, he also became the athletic director. He filled both positions until the end of the 2004 football season when he stepped down from coaching.
He has been an integral personality at Chadron State College for more than two decades. He was the Eagles’ football coach and athletic director 18 years before giving up the football duties in December 2004 to become the college’s full-time athletic director.
He’s also highly active in generating support for the entire athletic program and helped raise money through the Chadron State Foundation for the Vision 2011 Comprehensive Campaign. That fund drive generated more than 16.5 million dollars, amassing funds for endowments, the foundation’s annual fund and two building projects. A large portion of the proceeds will assist with items ranging from scholarships and equipment to student and faculty support. The building projects consist of the construction of a new Rangeland Complex and the creation of the Events Center, a renovation and expansion of the aging Armstrong Physical Education Building.
Smith has been busy within the athletic realm, as well. He helped Chadron State launch a women’s softball team that took the field in 2007 and laid the groundwork for the men’s and women’s cross country programs that will experience their first seasons this fall.
He also led the way in organizing the highly successful Don Beebe Chadron State Golf Classic in May and the athletic camps that bring approximately 2,800 aspiring high school athletes to the campus in June.
Smith’s coaching career garnered him several awards. He was named the RMAC’s All-Time Football Coach at the conference’s centennial celebration in the summer of 2009 after having a career record of 133-56-1 at Chadron State from 1987 to 2004. He is the school’s all-time winningest football coach and each of his final 11 teams won at least seven games. Smith’s all-time winning percentage of .704 ranked seventh in Division II among coaches whose teams had played at least 150 games when he stepped down from that position at the end of the 2004 season.
Smith also served as the interim coach for the football team midway through the 2011 season. The Eagles went 3-1 with Smith at the helm, meaning his career coaching record is 136-57-1.
He was the RMAC Coach of the Year in 1996 and 2001 and he shared it in 1999. He coached five conference championship teams and led the Eagles to the playoffs four times.
He’s also been inducted into the RMAC Hall of Fame and the Chadron State Athletic Hall of Fame for his role as coach and athletic director.
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.
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 adult children, Kara, Ben and Micah, and three grandchildren.
