ARLINGTON, Texas – Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Commissioner Rebekah Ray announced on Monday that Emily Smith has joined the conference as its assistant commissioner, sport administration and championships. Smith will also serve as the conference’s Senior Woman Administrator (SWA).

Smith will oversee all aspects of the conference related to the management, administration and operations for Olympic sports and championships, while working as the primary sport administrator for select Olympic sports. Smith will be the conference office liaison to the WAC Sport Management Committee, comprised of senior administrators from each member institution who develop and communicate recommendations to member athletics directors. Smith will also collaborate with external constituents, partners and NCAA committee representatives to implement strategies that will continue to enhance the prestige and competitive positioning of the league.

“We are excited to welcome Emily Smith,” Ray said. “Emily brings a great deal of experience in collegiate and professional sports operations to the table, having previously worked at the on-campus administration and front office levels. Emily will be integral to conference development and growth opportunities during this transformational time in our industry.”

Smith joined the WAC staff after most recently holding the title of director, player relations of the Overtime Elite basketball league based in Atlanta. Smith was responsible for strategizing and streamlining communication efforts for OTE stakeholders, including players, parents and their representatives. Smith was in charge of Life Skills off court programming for all OTE athletes, coordinating outside player development initiatives and opportunities. Smith was also involved in the oversight and management of recruiting presentations that highlighted academics, basketball and other aspects of the league for prospective athletes.

Smith arrived at OTE after working at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, from 2021-24, most recently holding the title of senior associate athletics director of administration/chief of staff. Smith was primarily responsible for oversight of the day-to-day operations of the director of athletics and as a liaison between executive staff, coaches and student-athletes. Smith had sport oversight of the football, women’s basketball and spirit programs, overseeing the football scheduling process as part of sport administration duties. Smith also managed the department’s apparel contract, coordinated staff town halls, head coaches’ meetings, weekly executive staff meetings and other staff events on behalf of the director of athletics.

Prior to returning to collegiate athletics at Austin Peay, Smith was a project manager with the public sector finance team at Verizon Wireless from 2019-21. Smith previously was the executive assistant to the general manager of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons in 2018-19 after working as the associate director of football operations at Baylor University in Waco in 2017-18. Smith’s additional collegiate experience included serving as a football administrative associate at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia, recruiting operations coordinator at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and as assistant to the director of football operations and head coach at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.

Smith graduated from Auburn with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and business. Smith later obtained a Certificate of Supervisory Management from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.