Editor’s note: In honor of Black History Month, the Daily is running a series on five influential and prominent African Americans in the ISU community. Today’s story profiles Gene Smith, ISU athletic director.

From the football field of Notre Dame to an executive office at a Big 12 university, ISU Athletic Director Gene Smith has found success.

As a child growing up in Cleveland, Smith never envisioned the prestige and responsibility of his current job.

“I had no clue about this business,” he said. “Frankly, I always thought I would be working with my father. He was an electrical contractor, so I thought I would end up being an electrician.”

While wires and fuses were not in his future, Smith has brought an electrifying presence to Cyclone athletics since he became Iowa State’s athletic director in 1993.

The combination of business and athletics made the position ideal for Smith’s lifestyle.

He attended the University of Notre Dame on a football scholarship and was a member of the 1973 national championship team as a freshman. For four years, Smith played linebacker for the Fighting Irish while earning his degree in business management.

Following his graduation in 1977, Smith accepted a graduate assistant coaching position for the Notre Dame football team, which won another national championship that year.

After one semester, he was offered a full-time coaching position. As special-teams coach and assistant defensive line coach, Smith was also responsible for recruiting on the East Coast.

As a player and coach, football took Smith to several major bowl games, including the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Gator Bowl and Cotton Bowl. In addition, the team traveled to Japan to play in the Mirage Bowl.

In 1981, Smith’s career veered away from the playing field.

“I left Notre Dame and worked with IBM for two years, selling computers in South Bend, Ind.,” he said.

With both athletic and business experience under his belt, Smith accepted an assistant athletic director position at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich.

“The defensive coordinator at Notre Dame when I played was the athletic director at Eastern Michigan,” Smith said. “I was assistant athletic director from 1983 until 1985.”

When his superior retired from EMU in 1985, Smith was promoted to athletic director and had one of the most memorable experiences of his career.

“The football program was 0-22, and we hired a new coach,” he remembered. “We developed a program and ended up winning a conference championship.”

Within the three-year turnaround from a non-contender to a conference power, the EMU football team went to a bowl game as underdogs and came away victorious.

Smith said his vision for the future attracted him to Iowa State in 1993.

“I felt that if we developed a long-range plan, we could develop this program to be highly competitive academically and athletically,” he said. “It was an exciting opportunity as I looked at the potential of the department.”

Smith said the long hours that his job requires are overshadowed by the rewards.

“The kids constantly inspire me in a number of different ways — to watch them develop over the time they’re here from year to year,” he said.

The daily demands synonymous with the role of athletic director leave little time for interaction with student-athletes, Smith said.

“Being athletic director puts me in a position where a lot of my time is dedicated to other things,” he said. “I don’t have the opportunities to connect with the student-athletes as much as I would like.”

Overseeing the athletic programs at Iowa State isn’t the full extent of Smith’s job.

“Besides the leadership role, I am a personnel manager, a fund-raiser, a marketer, a budget manager and a counselor in certain situations,” he said. “Public relations involves numerous speaking engagements, which take up a great deal of time.”

Despite his busy schedule, student athletics and its fans are at the heart of Smith’s work.

“You learn so much through athletics,” he said. “You learn the value of teamwork. You learn discipline. You learn how to overcome obstacles. You learn to play under pressure.

“The things you experience in life and in the job market are the things you learn in a group setting, working with a team,” he continued. “When companies come to interview our athletes, they already know the athletes know how to work with a group of people from different walks of life, toward a common goal.”

He said the benefits of athletics reflect on the fans as well as the athletes.

“For the students as fans, it’s enjoyable,” Smith said. “It’s a way to take pride in your institution.”

The vision that brought Smith to Ames is still alive in his work.

“You have to have a passion for the business,” he said. “You have to be committed to put in the effort and whatever is necessary for the program. You have to be a leader, create a good environment and establish a vision.”