Hope College men's athletic director Ray Smith will be among the honorees at the 1999 West Michigan Sports Awards banquet to be held Monday, March 1 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids.

Hope College men's athletic director Ray Smith will be among the honorees at the 1999 West Michigan Sports Awards banquet to be held Monday, March 1 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids.

     Smith will be presented the Lifetime Achievement Award during the
  event which benefits the March of Dimes.  Similar sports awards events
  will also be held in Detroit and Indianapolis.
     Other honorees will include Floyd Mayweather, Jr., WBC Super
  Featherwight champion, Pro Sports Achievement Award; Kristin Koetsier of
  Grandville High School and Miss Michigan Basketball, High School Athlete
  of the Year; Jeff Fox of Holland, Grand Valley State University football
  quarterback, College Athlete of the Year; Georgetown Little League team
  which competed in the Little League World Series, Team of the Year;
  Butch Briggs, East Grand Rapids swimming coach, Coach of the Year; Jim
  Dreyer, swimmer who crossed Lake Michigan to benefit Big Brothers, Big
  Sisters, Community Service Award;
  Cuonzo Martin, Grand Rapids Hoop of the Year; Craig Johnson, Whitecap of
  the Year; Ian Gordon, Griffin of the Year; and Matt Potter, Rampage of
  the Year.
     The keynote speaker will be Steve Garvey, nine time all-star first
  baseman for the L.A. Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
     Smith became the winningest coach in the history of Michigan
  Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) football during his 25 years
  at the helm of the Flying Dutchmen from 1970 until his retirement from
  coaching after the 1994 season.
     He coached his teams to a record nine MIAA football championships
  with a conference record of 91-28-6.  His 25-season overall record was
  148-69-9.  His winning percentage (.682) ranked him among the winningest
  active NCAA Division III coaches.
     In 1984 he was named Co-Coach of the Year in NCAA Division III by
  the Football News after his Flying Dutchmen posted a 9-0-0 record.  His
  1986 team advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs.
     Smith came to Hope College from Antelope Valley College in
  California where he had been head football and baseball coach.
     In college he was a standout fullback at UCLA, playing three years
  on the varsity.  As a player in the "two-way" era, he also saw action as
  a defensive halfback.  His senior year he captained the Pacific 8
  champs, was named UCLA's Athlete-of-the-Year, the football team's most
  valuable player and was an honorable mention All-American selection.  He
  participated in the Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine game.
     One of 20 students to receive an Outstanding Graduating Senior
  Award for academic accomplishment, Smith went on to earn his M.A.
  administrative degree from Pasadena College and a M.A. degree in
  physical education from Western Michigan University.
     Smith spent three seasons playing for the Saskatchewan Rough-
  Riders of the Canadian Football League before retiring because of an
  injury.
     At Hope he has also been golf coach, wrestling coach and assistant
  baseball coach.  He holds the academic rank of Professor of Physical
  Education and has been Director of Athletics for Men since 1980.  He
  serves on the NCAA Division III Football Advisory Committee which
  determines the teams to compete in the football playoffs.
     He also coordinates the church relations program for Hope College
  and is active at Christ Memorial Church in Holland.
     He and his wife Sue have three children: Randy, a 1985 Hope
  graduate; Jeff, a 1988 Hope graduate; and Jennifer, a junior at Hope
  College.