Our Board of Directors

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael Locksley

Michael Locksley

President and Founder

Michael Locksley returned home to become the University of Maryland’s 37th head football coach in December 2018. Locksley, a Washington, D.C. native with deep personal and professional connections to the area, brings over 20 years of coaching experience, including two separate stints at Maryland, totalling 10 years with the Terps.

The winner of the 2018 Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach, Locksley has spent the last three years working under Nick Saban at the University of Alabama. He served as the Crimson Tide’s co-offensive coordinator and won a national championship last season before being promoted to offensive coordinator in February of 2018 and helping Alabama return to the College Football Playoff.

Locksley, known for strong recruiting skills, was listed as a top-25 recruiter in the nation three different times (2003, 2005, 2006) and was a finalist for 2007 recruiter of the year by Rivals.com. He also engineered top-10 recruiting classes during each of his two seasons (2003-04) as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Florida.

Locksley has signed 21 four or five star recruits over his coaching career (according to 247sports), 14 of which came from the DMV area, in addition to coaching 92 NFL Draft selections. Among Locksley’s successful signings to Maryland were future NFL stars Vernon Davis, Shawne Merriman, LaMont Jordan, D’Qwell Jackson, EJ Henderson, Yannick Ngakoue and Stefon Diggs.

Alabama’s Locksley-led offense is averaging 47.9 points and 527.6 yards per game in 2018. The Tide has already set school records for points scored (623), single-season total offense (6,859 yards) and passing yards (4,231) in a season. Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has thrown for 3,189 yards and a school-record 37 touchdowns in 2018.

In 2017, Locksley coached the Alabama wide receivers, who combined to catch 128 passes for 2,059 yards and 19 touchdowns led by First Team All-SEC selection Calvin Ridley. Ridley hauled in 63 passes for 967 yards and five touchdowns in his junior season. Locksley spent the 2016 season on the Crimson Tide’s staff as an offensive analyst.

Prior to Alabama, Locksley served as Maryland’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2012-15. He was named the Terps interim head coach for the final six games of the 2015 season.

During his time as Maryland’s offensive coordinator, the Terrapins produced balanced and effective results. Locksley’s attack was led by quarterback C.J. Brown, who became Maryland’s all-time leader in touchdowns responsible (58) after totaling 13 passing touchdowns and eight rushing touchdowns in 2014. Locksley also mentored wide receiver, Stefon Diggs, who hauled in 62 passes for 792 yards and five touchdowns en route to second team All-Big Ten honors. Diggs is now an NFL superstar for the Minnesota Vikings.

In 2013, Locksley guided an offense that eclipsed 5,000 yards (5,160) for only the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2003. The passing game excelled that season, totaling 3,231 yards for the third-highest total in school history.

Prior to Maryland, Locksley served as the head coach at the University of New Mexico from 2009-11. Before that, Locksley also served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Illinois from 2005-08. The Illini went from No. 72 nationally in total offense in 2005 to 19th following the 2008 season. They led the Big Ten in rushing in 2006 and 2007 and then led the league in passing in 2008. The rushing attack was twice ranked in the top-10 nationally (No. 10 in 2006 and No. 5 in 2007).

Under Locksley’s offensive plan, wide receiver Arrelious Benn was a first team all-conference pick as a sophomore in 2008 after leading the league in receiving yards (1,055). He went on to become a second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2010 NFL Draft.

The 2007 Illinois offense became just the third unit in school history to surpass the 5,000-yard mark and first to top 3,000 rushing yards. Led by Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Rashard Mendenhall, the Illini led the league in rushing for the second straight year and finished fifth nationally at 256.7 yards a game.

Illinois played USC in the 2008 Rose Bowl and finished the season ranked 18th in the nation in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll and 20th by the Associated Press following a 9-4 season. In 2006, Locksley led an Illinois offense that paced the Big Ten and ranked 10th in the nation in rushing, averaging 188.8 yards.

Locksley spent the 2003 and 2004 seasons at the University of Florida as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. In 2004, Gators’ running back Ciatrick Fason led the SEC and ranked 19th in the NCAA in rushing (105.6 yards a game) on his way to second-team all-league honors.

In his first stint at Maryland from 1997-2002, Locksley enjoyed success both recruiting and grooming players in College Park. He oversaw the running backs during his entire tenure, including the final five as recruiting coordinator. Three different running backs – Chris Downs, Bruce Perry and LaMont Jordan – gained more than 1,000 yards and were named First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference.

He began his coaching career at Towson in 1992, where he coached defensive backs and special teams, followed by two seasons at the U.S. Naval Academy Preparatory School. He coached outside linebackers at the University of the Pacific in 1995 and then coached wide receivers and tight ends at Army in 1996.

Locksley played safety at Towson University, where he was the team’s defensive MVP as a senior in 1991. He finished his career ranked 19th on the school’s all-time tackles list and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing.

Locksley and his wife, Kia, have four children: Mike Jr., Kai, Kori and the late Meiko.

Founder

Rick Smith

Board Member

On June 5, 2006 Smith became the General Manager of the Houston Texans. His appointment made him the youngest general manager in the NFL at 36. During his tenure he also served as the organizations Executive Vice President of Football Operations. He was responsible for all aspects of football operations, salary cap management, budgeting, and the player acquisition process.

Smith is an executive board member of Pro-Vision Academy, a charter school and non-profit organization in Houston that provides educational services to children.

Smith played for the Purdue Boilermakers as a strong safety from 1988 to 1991 when he graduated.

Willie Jeffries

Board Member

Willie Jeffries completed an illustrious career as head football coach at South Carolina State in 2001, when he retired as Bulldog mentor after 19 seasons. His final Bulldog team rebounded from a 1-5 start to finish 6-5 and send the Bulldog alumnus out a winner. In 2010 Jeffries was named SC State Head Football Coach Emeritus and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The SC State alumnus also had the field at Oliver C. Dawson named for him and earned “Person of the Year” accolades from the Times and Democrat newspaper in Orangeburg.

Coach Jeffries made history in 1979 when he became the first African American head football coach in Division I football upon taking the job at Wichita State. During his remarkable 29-year collegiate head-coaching career, which included five-year stints each at Wichita State and Howard, Jeffries compiled a 179-132-6 record. His incredible resume included six Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships, two national titles, several post season appearances, and numerous coaching awards. Jeffries won almost 60 percent of the college games he coached, which made him the “winningest” coach in the 107-year history of SCSU and owner of more MEAC victories than any other coach.

In 2007, he was named Vice President of the South Carolina Athletic Hall of fame and he received the Pioneer Award from the University of South Carolina’s Department of Entertainment and Sports Management. In 2009, he was inducted into the National HBCU Alumni Hall of Fame. Most recently, in November, 2010 named the football field at Olive C. Dawson Stadium in his honor. He is a member of several coaching, professional and civic organizations, including the American Football Coaches Association and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He has also served on the NCAA Football Rules Committee.

He is also in the SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame, the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, and the MEAC Hall of Fame. Jeffries has received numerous honors, including the Order of the Silver Crescent, the Palmetto State’s highest award for outstanding community service. He also received the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian award and the Patriot’s Award, the highest award given by the Lieutenant Governor’s Office. Moreover, a scholarship fund and endowment have been established in his name at SCSU. During the 2002 school year, he was honored by the Black Coaches’ Association (BCA) with a lifetime achievement award and inducted into the Palmetto State’s Black Hall of Fame.

He is married to the former Mary Cauthen of Lancaster, SC and they have three children, Valorie, Willie Jr., and Tamara.

Ozzie Newsome

Board Member

Ozzie Newsome is the Executive Vice President of the Baltimore Ravens organization. Newsome has not just followed a successful path, he has blazed the trail. Known throughout all of sports as a premier leader, Newsome is a Hall of Fame player, the architect of Baltimore’s Super Bowl XXXV and Super Bowl XLVII championship teams and an elite personnel evaluator who became the NFL’s first African American general manager in 2002.

Newsome was a standout at Alabama under Bear Bryant from 1974-77. In 1978, Cleveland selected Newsome in the first round (23rd overall) of the NFL Draft. Playing 13 years for the Browns, he authored the most productive career for a tight end in the game’s history. A three-time Pro Bowler, his 662 receptions for 7,980 yards and 47 TDs stood as NFL records by a TE until Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe surpassed those marks in 2001.

Following his storied playing days, Ozzie joined Cleveland’s front office. His initial non-player position came as an assignment scout in 1991. Two years later, he was promoted to a comprehensive role – assistant to the head coach/offense/pro personnel.

In 1994, Newsome was named the Browns’ director of pro personnel.. When the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1996, Mr. Modell invited Newsome and promoted him to vice president of player personnel. From that point, Ozzie’s reputation as a supreme talent assessor grew quickly.

In the team’s first 23 drafts (1996-2018) – all led by Newsome – Baltimore tabbed 24 first-rounders who have earned a total of 64 Pro Bowl honors.

In 2017, Newsome was honored with the Achievement in Professional & Educational Excellence (APEX) Award from the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management Honors Program at Morgan State University. In 2014, Newsome received the Leadership Award for career achievement at the John Mackey Awards banquet. In 2012, was honored with the Maxwell Football Club’s Francis J. “Reds” Bagnell Award for outstanding contribution to the game of football. In 2007, along with Tony Dungy, Herm Edwards and Lovie Smith, Newsome received the Fritz Pollard Alliance’s Johnnie Cochran Salute to Excellence Award, which honors African Americans in the NFL who make the biggest impact on the field and in the front office. Newsome has gained induction into eight Halls of Fame: Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH (1999), National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame (1994), NCAA Hall of Fame (1994), State of Alabama Hall of Fame (1995), National High School Hall of Fame (2014), National Federation of State High School Associations Hall of Fame (2014), Colbert County High School (Leighton, AL) Hometown Hall of Fame (2012) and Little League Baseball Hall of Fame (2008)

Newsome and his wife, Gloria, live in Cockeysville, MD. Their son, Michael Ryan, graduated from Alabama.

Bill Polian

Board Member

Bill Polian spent 32 seasons in the National Football League during which time he earned the reputation of rebuilding franchises into dominant playoff teams. He is most noted for turning the fortunes of three different teams that included a combined five Super Bowl appearances by the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts.

Polian, who began in the NFL as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs from (1978-1982), took over as the general manager of the Bills in 1984. He built Buffalo into a powerhouse and led the team to four straight AFC Eastern Division titles from 1988 to 1991 including back-to-back 13-3 records in 1990 and 1991. The Bills also earned three straight Super Bowl berths after winning the AFC championship in 1990-92.

He worked in the NFL office in 1993 and 1994 as the league’s Vice President of Football Development before taking on general manager duties of the expansion Carolina Panthers. Under his leadership, Carolina advanced to the NFC championship in just his second season. The ’96 Panthers won the NFC Western Division with a 12-4 mark and knocked off the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game before falling to the Packers in the NFC championship.

In 1998, Polian moved on to the Indianapolis Colts where he served as President/General Manager through 2011. During his tenure, the Colts experienced great success that included eight division crowns and two Super Bowl appearance highlighted by a victory in Super Bowl XLI. With Polian at the helm, the Colts advanced to the postseason 11 times during a 12-season span and posted 10 or wins in each of those playoff years.

Not counting start-up seasons and his final year, Polian’s teams combined for a .625 regular season winning percentage. In all, Polian led the Bills to the AFC championship four times, the Panthers once, and the Colts three times.

In 2009, he became the only administrator ever to be named the NFL’s Executive of the Year by The Sporting News six times.

Buddy Pough

Board Member

Oliver “Buddy” Pough is in his 15th season as head football coach at South Carolina State, his alma mater. During a 14-year tenure at the school where he earned a bachelor’s and a master’s, as well as All-MEAC honors as an offensive lineman, Pough has compiled an overall record of 112-51 and an 87-24 MEAC worksheet. His teams have also captured two MEAC titles (2008 & 2009) outright, shared four others, and made four trips to the prestigious FCS playoffs.

In 2009, SC State was named National Black Champion. In addition, the Bulldogs finished number seven in all three major FCS polls – The Sports Network, the FCS Coaches Poll and Any Given Saturday.

Pough’s 2009 squad finished 10-3 overall, captured its second consecutive MEAC crown with an unblemished 8-0 record and made back-to-back appearances in the FCS playoffs. The Orangeburg native reaped Coach of the Year honors in the MEAC — his second in as many seasons.

Pough became the 14th head football coach at South Carolina State. In 2003, he guided the Bulldogs to an 8-4 overall record and a 6-2 mark in MEAC play. Along with the last three campaigns (2008-10), the 2004 season can be considered another one of the team’s best under Pough, as the Bulldogs produced the first-of-two consecutive 9-2 seasons. In 2005, Pough’s team duplicated the 9-2 record of the previous year and improved to 7-1 in the MEAC.Bulldogs had 10 win seasons in each of the next two campaigns — 2008 (10-3) and 2009 (10-2). SC State was also a perfect 8-0 in the MEAC both years.

Pough has coached a number of players who have gone on to play in the National Football League, including six who are currently on NFL rosters – Joe Thomas (Green Bay Packers), Raphael Bush (New Orleans Saints), Phillip Adams (Seattle Seahawks), Marshall McFadden (Oakland Raiders) , Kimario McFadden (Atlanta Falcons) and Jakar Hamilton (Dallas Cowboys).

Prior to taking the reins at South Carolina State, Pough spent five seasons as an assistant at the University Of South Carolina (USC). During his stint at USC, he helped build the Gamecocks into one of the top offensive teams in the SEC. USC made back-to-back appearances in the Outback Bowl in 2000 and 2001. Before going to USC, Pough was one of the top high school coaches in the Palmetto State, leading Fairfield-Central to a perfect 15-0 record in 1996 and claiming the Class AAA state title. He earned South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) Coach-of-the-Year honors for his efforts, the first of such three honors.

In his final two seasons (1973 and 1974) as a player for SC State, the Orangeburg native and former offensive lineman helped the Bulldogs to a 15-7-1 record, a league crown and back-to-back postseason appearances seasons.

Pough and his wife, Josie are the parents of two sons–Oliver “Bud” IV and Lee Judson and a daughter-in-law, Dr. Natalie Odom Pough. Pough has one granddaughter Taylor Michelle

Melvin Powell

Desiree Reed-Francios

Desiree Reed-Francios

Board Member

Since arriving in Las Vegas as the Director of Athletics in June 2017, Desiree Reed-Francois has transformed UNLV Athletics, spearheading a department culture change and emphasizing student-athlete welfare.

Reed-Francois, the first Hispanic female and woman of color athletics director at the FBS level, was instrumental in installing a new student-athlete focused model with collectively established core values. A former student-athlete at UCLA (club rowing), Reed-Francois is a strong advocate for student-athletes and understands the importance of leadership development and mentorship in ensuring their future success.

Focusing on providing a first-class holistic student-athlete experience, Reed Francois instituted a new administrative structure with staff additions. Innovative student-centered programs and a renewed focus on academic achievement led to collective student-athlete grade point averages of 3.0 or greater in each of the last four semesters – firsts in the history of UNLV Athletics.

Under Reed-Francois, with a focus on building a solid fiscal foundation and business operation, the department’s finance office was rebuilt and the budget successfully balanced in both of her first two years at UNLV.

In July 2019, Reed-Francois introduced a new apparel contract with Nike, which includes one of the largest annual product allotments from the company in the Mountain West Conference.

The Rebel Athletic Fund’s Drive for 5 campaign, launched in Spring 2018, has resulted in a 30% increase in the number of donors boosting the annual fund total to its highest ever. In September 2018, Reed-Francois announced the largest corporate financial commitment in UNLV Athletics’ history. In 2017, Reed-Francois announced a 10-year multimedia rights deal with Learfield, which is the largest in the Mountain West Conference from a revenue standpoint. In January 2018, UNLV broke ground on the new, $34 million Fertitta Football Complex, which is scheduled to open in Fall 2019, and she was instrumental in successfully negotiating the Joint Use Agreement with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders for UNLV’s use in the new $1.8 billion Las Vegas Stadium, opening in August 2020. Overall, UNLV Athletics is currently involved in facilities projects totaling $2.044 billion.

On the fields, courts, tracks, pools and courses of competition, UNLV captured a Mountain West leading five team championships in 2017-18. With an emphasis on strategic marketing, many UNLV sports programs have witnessed a rise in attendance and the fan experience has also been a point of emphasis under Reed-Francois, with consistent surveying and year-over-year improvements.

Reed-Francois came to UNLV with more than two decades of experience in athletics administration, most recently serving at Virginia Tech as executive associate athletics director and later as deputy athletics director. As second-in-command to the athletics director, she was responsible for external relations and day-to-day operations for 22 sports, more than 600 student-athletes, and 14 facilities. An administrator with an eye toward balancing the complex external and internal facets of a Power Five athletics department, Reed-Francois partnered on budget development for all athletics units at Virginia Tech, prepared the department’s facilities master plan, redesigned fundraising strategy, and revitalized the university’s student-athlete success program.

Prior to Virginia Tech, Reed-Francois spent two years at the University of Cincinnati as senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator. There, she was a member of the executive staff and was responsible for external affairs, football oversight and the negotiation of the university’s contract with the Cincinnati Bengals for use of Paul Brown Stadium during a campus stadium renovation. She also served for a period in 2014 as interim athletics director.

During her career in athletics administration, Reed-Francois has also worked at the University of Cincinnati, Tennessee, California State University-Fresno, Santa Clara University, San Jose State University, the University of California Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco. At Tennessee, she was the first female administrator in SEC history to oversee men’s basketball. Her work has covered athletics compliance, program oversight, budget management, brand development and marketing, strategic planning, major gifts cultivation, contracts and legal counsel, student-athlete services, and facilities management.

Reed-Francois and her husband, Joshua, have a son, Jackson (15).

Nick Saban

Board Member

In his 14th season in Tuscaloosa, Saban’s uncompromising dedication to excellence in every phase of the program has resulted in five national championships since 2009. An eight-time National Coach of the Year, Saban has achieved resounding success as a head coach and has earned a reputation as an outstanding tactician, leader, organizer and motivator. Those qualities have sparked impressive turnarounds at every stop of his career. Saban’s consistent approach and disciplined leadership are the reasons his teams are known for exhibiting grit, determination and resilience, often overcoming adversity to achieve victory.

Saban has compiled a 248-65-1 (.791) record (243-65-1, .788 after vacations) as a college head coach and went 124-15 (.892) in the last 10 seasons and 127-15 (.907) from 2009-18 , which was the best of any major college school over a 10-year span since Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma in the late 1940s through the late 1950s. UA’s 125 wins in the 2010’s were the most for any FBS school during a decade in the Associated Press poll era (since 1936).

Alabama has not lost to an unranked team since 2007 and have lost just one game to a team ranked outside the top 15 in the AP poll in the last 12 years (No. 19 South Carolina in 2010). For perspective, no team in the FBS has lost fewer than 10 games to teams outside the top 15 in that same time frame.

Saban, who was named the SEC Coach of the Year and Munger Award National Coach of the Year (presented by the Maxwell Football Club), had five players earn first team All-America honors – Jonathan Allen, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Reuben Foster, Marlon Humphrey and Cam Robinson. Allen also captured the Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award, both of which go to the national defensive player of the year, and the Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end, while Foster won the Butkus Award that is given to the nation’s best linebacker, and Robinson captured the Outland Trophy.

Saban became the first coach to win back-to-back BCS national championships at the end of the 2012 season, and he is one of three college coaches in the poll era (since 1936) to win three national championships in four years (2009-2012), joining Frank Leahy of Notre Dame (1946-47, 1949) and Tom Osborne of Nebraska (1994-95, 1997). He is also just the second (Leahy) to win four titles in seven years, a feat he has now accomplished twice (2009-12 and 2011-17).

Before arriving in Tuscaloosa, Saban’s most recent college head coaching stint was a five-season run at LSU that produced a record of 48-16 (.750), one national championship (2003), two Southeastern Conference championships, three SEC Western Division championships, and a 3-2 record in bowl games with two Sugar Bowl victories and a Peach Bowl win. LSU constructed a 28-12 (.700) record against SEC opponents under Saban’s guidance. He was named the 2003 National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press and earned both the Paul W. “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year Award and the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award by the Football Writers Association of America. Saban was named SEC Coach of the Year twice (by The Birmingham News in 2001 and by the Associated Press in 2003) while at LSU.

Saban took over the Alabama program after serving two seasons at the helm of the Miami Dolphins. Saban’s teams showed marked improvement over the unit he inherited. Taking over a team that finished 4-12 in 2004, Saban led the 2005 Dolphins to a 9-7 record, the third-biggest turnaround in the NFL that season and the second-highest victory turnaround for a Dolphins team in any non-strike season. Most impressively, the Dolphins finished 2005 on a six-game winning streak to end the year, the longest streak in the NFL that season.

Nick Saban’s Coaching Tree

As a member of the Cleveland Browns defensive staff under Bill Belichick, Saban is a notable part of the Belichick coaching tree. Over the years, however, Saban has built an impressive coaching tree of his own that included many prominent NFL and college head coaches and assistants.

Mark Dantonio (Michigan State head coach)
Derek Dooley (Former Tennessee head coach)
Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M head coach)
Jason Garrett (Dallas Cowboys head coach)
Mike Haywood (Former Miami (OH) head coach)
Lane Kiffin (FAU head coach)
Scott Linehan (Former St. Louis Rams HC, current Dallas Cowboys OC)
Josh McDaniels (New England Patriots offensive coordinator)
Jim McElwain (Former Florida head coach)
Mike Mularkey (Tennessee Titans head coach)
Will Muschamp (South Carolina head coach)
Billy Napier (Louisiana head coach)
Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee head coach)
Dan Quinn (Atlanta Falcons head coach)
Pat Shurmur (Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator)
Kirby Smart (Georgia head coach)
Bobby Williams (Former Michigan State head coach)

De Smith

DeMaurice Smith is the Former Executive Director of the National Football League Players’ Association (NFLPA). Smith was appointed to his fourth three-year term by unanimous vote of the NFLPA’s Executive Committee in October 2017. He has been named one of the top ten most influential executives in sports. As Executive Director of the Player’s Union, he has negotiated two comprehensive collective bargaining agreements and is currently the longest serving Executive Director of a major sport union. As the Chief Executive Officer of the NFLPA’s for profit company Player’s Incorporated, he has guided annual revenues to over $200M and witnessed the largest growth in player’s marketing and licensing.

In March 2020, he successfully negotiated his second long-term Collective Bargaining Agreement with the National Football League. The eleven-year deal will provide players with their guaranteed highest share of NFL revenue in history. The agreement improved health care, pensions and benefits for all players, achieved a twenty percent increase in the salaries of the core players and reached back to players who had previously retired without full benefits and brought them to the current level of retirees. He also led the negotiations to create comprehensive Covid-19 protections and protocols for his membership, obtained comprehensive testing and opt out provisions for players and designed the return to play agreements that secured NFL Players being paid their full salary for the season despite a projected $3billion shortfall for 2020.

Prior to his election as the Executive Director, Mr. Smith was recognized as one of the best trial lawyers in the country. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia for nearly a decade and was formerly Counsel to then Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in the United States Department of Justice.

He is a 1989 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and a 1985 graduate of Cedarville University.

Gene Smith

Gene Smith is widely recognized among the leaders of his profession and has been named “one of the most powerful people in collegiate sport.” Smith was named the Buckeyes’ director of athletics March 5, 2005 and was elevated to senior vice president and Wolfe Foundation endowed athletics director in May of 2016.

Smith is the eighth person to hold the athletics director position at Ohio State. He previously served as director of athletics at Arizona State, Iowa State and Eastern Michigan universities and is entering his 32nd year in the role.

Under Smith’s leadership, the Ohio State athletics department has thrived, winning myriad conference and national, individual and team, athletic championships and awards. In 2015, Forbes recognized the Ohio State Athletics Department as one of the ten best organizations to work for in sports.

Most recently, Smith was selected to serve on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee in January of 2017. He will serve a three-year term. In April of 2017, he joined the Board of Directors for The Columbus Club, a prominent club for leaders of business and industry.

Formed in October of 2017, Smith began work with the Commission on College Basketball, a task force formed by Mark Emmert, president of the NCAA, and chaired by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former provost at Stanford, U.S. National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, to examine Division I men’s basketball. The group will primarily examine the relationships between the NCAA, its member institutions, coaches and student athletes with apparel companies, non-scholastic basketball organizations and agents or advisors.

Smith grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended the University of Notre Dame on a football scholarship. He played four years of football as a defensive end for the Irish and was a member of the 1973 Associated Press national championship team.

Smith received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Notre Dame in 1977. Following graduation, he joined the Notre Dame coaching staff under Dan Devine and remained in that capacity until 1981. The 1977 Notre Dame team captured the undisputed national championship. Smith has the unique distinction of winning national championships in football as a student-athlete, coach, and athletics director.

Gene and Sheila have four children: Matt, Nicole, Lindsey and Summer, and seven grandchildren: Marshall, Steele, Addison, Grayson, Tyson, Elijah and Maya.

Mike Tomlin

Board Member

Mike Tomlin was named the 16th head coach in Pittsburgh Steelers history on January 22, 2007. Hired at the age of 34, Tomlin became only the third head coach hired by the Steelers since 1969. Tomlin ranks among the League’s longest-tenured head coaches following the 2019 season with 13 seasons as the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers organization.

Tomlin became the youngest head coach in NFL history to both coach in and win a Super Bowl when he led the Steelers to a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII (36 years, 323 days). By winning the Super Bowl in only his second season as a head coach, he also became the fastest to win a Super Bowl title in Steelers history.In his 13 years as head coach of the Steelers, Tomlin has led Pittsburgh to six AFC North titles, most recently in 2017, and has guided the Steelers to the playoffs eight times, including two trips to the Super Bowl (XLIII and XLV). Tomlin has won at least five home games in each of his first 13 years, including five at Heinz Field in 2019.

Tomlin has sent a total of 61 selections to the NFL’s annual Pro Bowl, including the five players who received Pro Bowl honors for the 2019 season. Additionally, Tomlin was appointed by Commissioner Roger Goodell to the NFL’s Competition Committee in March 2013.

Tomlin is one of only eight coaches in League history to win a Super Bowl within his first two seasons as an NFL head coach.

Tomlin has led Pittsburgh to a 133-74-1 record in the regular season since becoming the team’s head coach in 2007 – the second-best record in the NFL during that time span. His 133-74-1 regular-season record (.642) is the best start in franchise history.

Tomlin secured his 13th straight non-losing season with the Steelers’ eighth win in 2019, a 23-17 win at Arizona in Week 14, a streak dating back to his first season as the team’s head coach in 2007. Tomlin is one of three head coaches in NFL history to begin a head coaching tenure with at least 13 consecutive non-losing seasons.

Tomlin reached 125 career wins in the fewest games (192) in team history, tying him with Bud Grant for the fifth-fewest games by an NFL head coach to secure 125 regular season wins. He is the third head coach in NFL history with 133 or more regular season wins in their first 13 seasons as a head coach,

Tomlin was the NFL’s second-youngest head coach in 2007, and he became only the second Steelers coach in team history to win at least 10 games during his first year at the helm. The Steelers posted a 7-1 record at home in 2007 and were 5-1 in the AFC North (3-0 at home).

Tomlin spent the 2006 season as the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator. Tomlin was the defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2001-05. In 2002, Tomlin guided one of the most productive defensive backfields in the NFL, culminating with its performance in Super Bowl XXXVII. The secondary recorded four of the team’s five interceptions, returning two for touchdowns, to help Tampa Bay capture the franchise’s first Super Bowl title.

Before joining Tampa Bay’s staff, Tomlin served two seasons as the defensive backs coach at the University of Cincinnati (1999-00). He took over a secondary that ranked 111th in the nation in pass defense in 1998 and helped them improve to 61st overall in his first season. Under Tomlin’s direction in 2000, the Bearcats ranked eighth in the nation in interceptions as well as fourth nationally in total turnovers.

Prior to joining the Cincinnati staff, Tomlin had a short stint on the coaching staff at Tennessee-Martin and then spent two seasons at Arkansas State, coaching wide receivers in 1997 before switching to defensive backs in 1998.

Tomlin spent the 1996 season as a graduate assistant at the University of Memphis, where he worked with the Tiger defensive backs and special teams units. He began his coaching career in 1995 as wide receivers coach at Virginia Military Institute.

Tomlin was a three-year starter at wide receiver at William & Mary (1990-94) and finished his career with 101 receptions for 2,054 yards and 20 TD catches. A first-team All-Yankee Conference selection in 1994, he established a school record with a 20.2 yards-per-catch average.

Tomlin is very active in the community and was recognized, along with his wife Kiya, in February 2013, by the Chuck Cooper Foundation with the Career Achievement in Leadership Diversity and Community Service Award. Tomlin also participates in the annual ManUp Pittsburgh conference which encourages local men to be better fathers and role models.

Doug Williams

Board Member

Doug Williams was named the Washington Football Team’s Senior Vice President of Player Development on January 9, 2020. Prior to this Williams was named Senior Vice President of Player Personnel on June 13, 2017, after initially returning to the team as a personnel executive in February 2014. In that role, Williams helped to lead and guide the efforts of the team’s personnel department across the pro and collegiate scouting ranks.

Williams, the first African-American quarterback to play in a Super Bowl. He is a veteran of 21 NFL seasons, including nine as a player and 12 in scouting/personnel roles. Williams, a first-round pick by Tampa Bay in the 1978 NFL Draft (17th overall), led the Buccaneers to the first three playoff appearances in team history and propelled the team to three winning seasons. He ended his Tampa Bay career in 1982 as the all-time franchise leader in touchdown passes, passing yards, attempts and completions. In 1986, the Redskins traded for Williams’ rights. In Williams’ Super Bowl XXII MVP performance following the 1987 season, he set or tied several Super Bowl passing records, including most TD passes (four), most yards passing (340), longest pass completion (80 yards) and longest TD pass (80 yards).

As a coach, in six seasons during his first tenure (1998-2003) at Grambling State, Williams brought one of the most storied programs in college football history back to prominence, compiling a 52-18 record as head coach after succeeding the legendary Eddie Robinson and re-wrote the record books as the winningest coach in the history of college football with 408 career wins. He was also named SWAC Coach of the Year in for every season from 2000-2002 Williams started his college head coaching career at Morehouse College in 1997 and later spending time coaching in the NFL, Collegiate and High School ranks.

As Grambling’s quarterback from 1974-77, Williams had a spectacular college career as he passed for more than 8,000 yards and 93 touchdowns, leading the Tigers to three Black College National Championships and two SWAC titles. He posted a 35-5 record as a starter and finished fourth in voting for the 1977 Heisman Trophy.

In 2005, Williams and Shack Harris established The Shack Harris & Doug Williams Foundation with the function of providing grants for after-school initiatives, leadership development, mentoring programs and minority higher education assistance for economically disadvantaged youth. In March of 2009, the foundation put on its first annual Washington Football Legends for Charity in Washington, D.C. In 2010, the foundation established the Black College Football Hall of Fame, which will move to its new home in Canton, Ohio in 2018.

Williams and his wife, Raunda, have eight children: Ashley, Adrian, Carmeleta, Doug, Jr., Jasmine, Laura, Lee and Temessia.