Brandon Smith is the new sports information director for the Newman University athletics department.
Smith attended Barton Community College (BCC) before earning his bachelor’s degree in human health performance with a minor in sports management from Fort Hays State University in December 2017.
Smith originally went to BCC for a criminal justice degree, but eventually realized sports was his true passion.
“I’m a bit of a sports guru. I’ve got a sports team for pretty much every sport,” he said, his favorite being the Colorado Rockies baseball team.
The sports information director has a wide variety of job duties, but Smith is up for the challenge.
Smith said, “Yes, you have the games that go on but you’ve got stats to do, social media, game releases, broadcasts, maintaining the website, getting all the news information out as soon as possible, communicating with all the coaches.”
As an intern at BCC during the past year, Smith gained experience doing all of these things and said he looks forward to the responsibilities that come with his title. He is thankful, he said, for the help of his graduate assistant, Derrell Epps, who has worked in the athletic department for the past year and will be able to provide helpful insight.
Simultaneously managing fall and winter or winter and spring sports is a challenge he is looking forward to taking head on, he said
Newman originally attracted him because of its NCAA status, its location and the upcoming move to the MIAA. Now he said he is hooked on the atmosphere.
“It’s been awesome so far. Everyone’s been very friendly and kind,” he said. He appreciates that he can always find someone to lend a helping hand when he needs it.
His goals include making Newman a more well-known NCAA institution and bringing a new perspective to the department. He said a new environment will give him the opportunity to “do different things that maybe the coaches, the university or the fans haven’t seen yet.”
