Millikin has announced that Marc Smith has accepted the position of head men's basketball coach.
Smith, a native of Springfield, Ill., returns to Millikin after five years as the head coach at Keystone. Prior to his years at Keystone, Smith served as an assistant coach for Millikin (1998-2002) and has also held assistant coaching positions at Mount Union College, Martin Methodist and Ashland.
“We are extremely pleased that Marc Smith is returning to Millikin University and the Big Blue basketball program. Coach Smith brings an up-tempo, pressure defensive style of play that will infuse excitement into the team, the fans and indeed the program,” athletic director Lori Kerans said. “Coach Smith has a firm commitment to the Division III philosophy of the student-athlete experience. He will recruit a disciplined, unselfish athlete who will excel not only within the basketball program, but also academically and socially.”
“It is a privilege and an honor to be selected,” Smith said. “There is no better feeling than the thought of coming home and coaching basketball at a university that I highly respect. My family is very excited about the opportunities that this position offers. We are anxious to meet and begin working with all of the people who are important to the program, including the student-athletes, campus community, the alumni and the Decatur community. The expectations for the men's basketball program are high and we will work diligently to meet those expectations.”
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 championship. His 2004-05 squad followed up with back-to-back conference and tournament championships (22-7).
In addition to his coaching duties at Keystone, Smith also served as the associate athletic director.
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 first-team all-conference and NJCAA all-region. He capped his career with two years at Lincoln Memorial where he was twice named the team's defensive player of the year.
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 his bachelor's degree in business management from Lincoln Memorial in 1993 and completed his masters in sport science at Ashland in 1996.