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.