College Sports Information Directors of America

Editor's Note: Following is a series of stories about South Alabama SID Matt Smith, who died at age 33 of an apparent heart attack while on a trip with his school's basketball team.

Obituary

Matt Smith, media relations director for the University of South Alabama, died unexpected Friday morning of an apparent heart attack in Starkville, Mississippi while traveling with the USA basketball team. He was 33 years old.

"It is with deep regret I report the loss of Matt," said Joe Gottfried, USA athletic director. "He was a dedicated member of the athletic department team and will be sorely missed. He was committed to the University and had a positive attitude that made working with him a true pleasure."

Smith had been with USA's athletic department for eight years, where he oversaw the publicity for all 15 intercollegiate sports programs. A native of Spanish Fort, Al., Smith graduated from Fairhope High School and attended Faulkner State Community College, where he served as baseball manager and sports reporter. He earned a bachelor's degree in sports journalism from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1996.

Smith was an integral part of Mobile's sports community, lending his talent to the LPGA AFLAC Tournament of Champions, the Nike Tour Championship, the Senior Bowl, the Alabama/Mississippi High School All-Star Classic and the GMAC Senior Bowl. He also served as a part-time official scorer for the Mobile Bay Bears.

He was a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America, the Alabama Sports Writers Association and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America. He had worked as a correspondent for several newspapers throughout the South, including the Mobile Register, Gulf Coast Newspapers, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.), and the Denham Springs (La.) News.

Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced.

Tribute

By Tommy Hicks
Mobile Register

Matt Smith, athletics media relations director at the University of South Alabama, died Friday morning of an apparent heart attack in Starkville, Miss., the morning after the Jaguars' basketball game against Mississippi State University. He was 33 years old.

The Spanish Fort native -- who graduated from Fairhope High School, Faulkner State Community College and Southeastern Louisiana University -- had served as South Alabama's athletics media relations director since being promoted to the post in June 2001. He joined the department in 1996 as an intern after graduating from SLU with a degree in sports journalism that same year. In 1997 he became the school's first full-time assistant media relations director.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

That's the news story, written the way journalism students are taught to write such stories -- the inverted pyramid style, it's called. Get the main news out first, all the whos, whats, wheres, whens, whys and hows of the story.

It's the way Matt would have written it.

With that out of the way, here's what you probably didn't know about Matt Smith, what you should know about him.

Although shy at the outset and never one to draw attention to himself, he loved to sing karaoke, especially country songs. If you traveled with Matt for a game, you could expect to find yourself in an establishment that featured such activity if he was placed in charge of postgame entertainment.

Although professional in his work, demanding no cheering for any team in the press box or press row -- even for USA -- in his heart Matt cheered like crazy for the Jags. That's because this wasn't just work for Matt, it was a joy. South Alabama wasn't just a place of business, it was home, too. He cared about doing his job the right way and cared even more about the people for whom he worked.

Athletics director Joe Gottfried, baseball coach Steve Kittrell, NCAA compliance director Hal Williams, senior women's administrator Pam Young, basketball coaches John Pelphrey and Rick Pietri, athletics trainer Paul Newman, equipment manager John Singletary, media relations assistant Kevin Beasley -- they weren't people Matt worked for and with, they were close friends.

If anyone was born to work in athletics media relations, it was Matt Smith. He didn't go to work each day, he went to spend time with his friends, he went to spend time doing something he loved. To call it work would almost be considered an insult.

Long hours and tireless work were as common for him as walking or writing yet another press release. Even so-called days off were rare for him because he wanted to make sure everything was covered, that every sport, regardless of its public profile or perception of importance, received equal treatment, equal coverage.

Many of you receiving the news of Matt's tragic death are first learning of him and his duties. That's a shame, and blame should be aimed here as much as anywhere else. But that's because he did his job well. Like umpires in his beloved game of baseball or referees in basketball, the best ones are the ones you don't notice at work. They do their work so the players and coaches can shine.

If you attended any South Alabama sporting event in recent years, you no doubt saw him there, constantly moving back and forth behind the scorer's table for basketball games at the Mitchell Center, making sure the stats were up to date and keeping reporters informed of items of interest. At baseball games he kept the official scorebook for the Jags in the press box, but could also be seen arranging interviews with players and coaches afterward. He could also be found, if you looked closely, at soccer and tennis matches, golf tournaments, cross country and track meets.

He wasn't just involved with the Jags either. He helped out at Mobile BayBears games at times, as well as with the Senior Bowl, Alabama-Mississippi High School All-Star Game, the Mobile LPGA tournament and many other events. Again, it was not work taken on for financial reasons, only for his love of the games.

Matt Smith was everywhere, and by design you never knew it. Now he's gone, and it's a shame -- as well as a real loss -- that we didn't introduce you sooner.

Calendar

Important Dates