MBB» Head Coach Marc Smith

phone: 217.424.3725

email: mlsmith@millikin.edu

Marc Smith, a native of Springfield (Ill.), returned to Millikin in 2007 after five years as the head coach at Keystone College in La Plume, Penn. Prior to his years at Keystone, Smith served as an assistant coach for Millikin’s Big Blue (1998 to 2002) and has also held assistant coaching positions at Mount Union College (Ohio), Martin Methodist College (Tenn.) and Ashland University (Ohio).

At Keystone, Smith’s teams posted an 88-50 record while transitioning the program to NCAA Division III. His best record as a head coach came in 2003-04 when the team finished 24-4 with a North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) conference and tournament championship. His 2004-05 squad followed up with back-to-back conference and tournament championships (22-7) but for the second year in a row was unable to advance into the NCAA Tournament due to the rules of its transition.

In addition to his coaching duties at Keystone, Smith also served as the Associate Athletic Director (2005-07) and an academic advisor and faculty member (2002-05). As the Associate Athletic Director, he was responsible for several different areas, including scheduling athletic events, fundraising, training and education programs for the athletic staff and developing alumni and parent programs.

As a college player, Smith was the 1990 and 1991 Defensive Player of the Year at Black Hawk Community College. During his two years there, he was also a team captain (1990), Coaches Award recipient (1990), Most Valuable Player (1991), first-team all-conference (1991) and NJCAA all-region (1991). He capped his career with two years at Lincoln Memorial where he was again named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year (1992, 1993), a team captain (1992) and winner of the Frank B. Turner Award (1993).

Smith is believed to be the first African American full-time head men’s basketball coach in Millikin history and one of a small number of African American head coaches in the history of the CCIW.

Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from Lincoln Memorial University (Tenn.) in 1993 and completed his Masters of Education degree in Sport Science at Ashland University in 1996. He is a 1987 graduate of Springfield Lanphier High School.

Smith and his wife, Faith, live in Decatur with their children Marc, Jr. and Kaileigh.